Phillies could lose coach to rival Mets in full-circle rehire
· Yahoo Sports
Kevin Long was the New York Mets‘ hitting coach the last time they won a National League pennant. To get back to the World Series for the first time since 2015, the Mets might turn to Long for a short reboot.
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In the same week that he was fired by the Philadelphia Phillies, Long scheduled an interview with the Mets about a position on their 2027 coaching staff, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Long was the Mets’ hitting coach from 2015 to 2017, between coaching stints with the New York Yankees (2007-14) and Washington Nationals (2018-21).
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Coincidentally, the Phillies named Carlos Mendoza their third-base coach and infielders’ coach last Thursday, less than four months after he was fired from his job managing the Mets. New York missed the postseason and finished last in the NL East with a 74-88 record this season.
Long, 59, was the Phillies’ hitting coach from 2022-26 on Rob Thomson’s staff. Thomson was fired in April and replaced on an interim basis with bench coach Don Mattingly. When Mattingly signed a two-year contract to return to the Phillies, Long was not retained.
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Long has reached the World Series with four different clubs as hitting coach: the Yankees in 2009, the Mets in 2015, the Nationals in 2019, and the Phillies in 2022.
Although the Phillies haven’t been back to the World Series since, the team’s lineup had its share of success under Long. Philadelphia slugged 220 home runs in 2023, the second-most for a single season in club history. They also saw six different players hit at least 20 home runs in 2023, a franchise record.
In 2016, the Mets hit a franchise-record 218 home runs under Long. From 2007-14, the Yankees led MLB in home runs (1,584) and RBIs (6,206), and ranked second in runs (6,485).
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