Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis and Scott Coolbaugh

Sep 8, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (19) is congratulated after scoring against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles did not hire Scott Coolbaugh to be the O’s hitting coach for the singular purpose of getting Chris Davis straightened out, in that they had worked together in the past. The former Rangers hitting coach and minor league instructor is with the Birds because he was deemed by the organization – and surely Buck Showalter in particular – to be the best person available for the job. If he tweaks Davis back into shape, that will be a special bonus.

Think of this hiring as “Fresh Eyes” year two!  Of course we are referring to the phrase that was coined and used multiple times a year ago upon the occasion of the hiring of Dave Wallace and Dom Chiti to coach the Orioles pitchers. It worked! And from this keyboard to God’s ears – may it be that this works again!

What is the Coolbaugh / Davis connection?

Since much is made of their time together in the Rangers’ organization, I thought I’d look at their careers and specify when they had time together in Texas … adding that both of them are also Texas natives.

Coolbaugh was the hitting coach for the AA Frisco team in 2007 and 2008; and he then moved to AAA Oklahoma City for the complete 2009 and 2010 seasons. On June 8, 2011 he took over for the Rangers themselves for the rest of that season and all of 2012.

He was then replaced on the Rangers by former Red Sox coach Dave Magadan, considered one of the premier batting instructors in the game – Texas seizing upon the opportunity to secure him. Coolbaugh was offered the position as minor league instructor.

Looking back at stories from that time, there is some negative talk about the Rangers having frustrations in 2012 in the area of situational hitting – particularly regarding runners being stranded at third base. Yet in 2012, Texas was #1 in runs scored, #2 in batting average and slugging percentage, and #3 in on-base percentage. Not bad!

Beyond the interconnections that go on in an organization between players and coaches who are all together in spring training, the most specific time of overlap between Davis and Coolbaugh was at AAA Oklahoma City. Reflecting on that time today, Coolbaugh said in Roch Kubatko’s MASN column …

"“You know what? Anything he does on a baseball field is not really overwhelming to me because I’ve seen a lot of things that he did. It was like a video game when he was in Triple-A when I was with him for a couple years when he got sent up and down. There were times when he hit 20 home runs in a month and hit .360 and it was like, this guy’s like Babe Ruth compared to Triple-A.”"

Let’s look at some of Davis’ numbers from that time.

Scott Coolbaugh is “Fresh Eyes” year two!

First, Davis played 76 games at AA Frisco in the two seasons Coolbaugh was coaching there. Crush hit 25 home runs while having 67 RBIs with a batting average of .319.

Davis made his debut in Texas in 2008, playing in 80 games, hitting 17 homers and batting .285. But in his major league stints in 2009 and 2010, Davis saw his average drop to .238 and then .192, and he began to ride the AAA shuttle.

Back in Oklahoma City for portions of those two years, while reunited with Coolbaugh he hit .337 with a total of 20 home runs. For his entire minor league career, Davis hit 118 homers.

Davis only played a grand total of eight games with the Rangers during the time in 2011 after Coolbaugh had become the hitting coach, and he was 7-for-28. After that, Chris was traded to the Orioles.

What can be learned from this? After blasting his way through the minors, Davis had initial success in his first big league exposure. He then hit a rough stretch, and during his back and forth travels to AAA, it was Scott Coolbaugh who seemed to help him make some adjustments, even though Chris never really lived up to his potential in Texas.

Making adjustments. That has appeared to me – admittedly from a distance – to be the difficulty for Orioles hitters over recent years under the tutelage of the past couple of hitting coaches. So I certainly welcome some fresh eyes, round two. If any coaches were to be replaced, this is the area where a new day and new approach might make for a valuable change.

Next: Watch out what you wish for when it comes to Orioles getting free agents