By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor
Well, that was quick.
Within an hour of the Philadelphia Phillies 2016 season drawing to a close, Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is reporting that the Phillies do not plan to retain hitting coach Steve Henderson:
The phillies will not bring back hit coach Steve Henderson
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) October 2, 2016
Though the Phillies finished the 2016 season with eight more wins than 2015, their team offense was probably the worst in the entire league. The team finished the 2016 campaign 30th in runs scored, 29th in team batting average, 29th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging percentage.
Admittedly, the Phillies didn't have a ton of offensive talent to work with, though the stalled developments of both Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera probably sealed the fate of Henderson.
Henderson, 63, has been in the Phillies organization since 2010 and has served as the team's hitting coach for the past four seasons.
Internally, the Phillies seem to lack an obvious choice to replace Henderson, so his replacement is likely to be someone from outside the organization. Some have speculated that announcer Matt Stairs could be a candidate.
It's unclear whether the rest of manager Pete Mackanin's staff will return for the 2017 season.
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