The Braves announced that Tim Hyers has been hired as a hitting coach for their major league staff. He replaces Kevin Seitzer, who was fired two weeks ago. Hyers had been the hitting coach of the Rangers, so that club will now have a vacancy to fill on their staff.
Hyers, now 53, is a Georgia native. He was born in Atlanta and attended Newton County High School before being selected by the Blue Jays in the 1990 draft. He went on to play in the majors from 1994 to 1999, suiting up for the Padres, Tigers and Marlins. He moved into coaching and scouting after his playing days. He got a job as assistant hitting coach with the Dodgers for the 2016 season.
He has since served as hitting coach for two clubs, winning World Series rings with both of them. He was hired by the Red Sox going into 2018, with Boston winning the title in his first year. He was hired by the Rangers going into 2022, with the Rangers hoisting the trophy in the second of his three seasons there.
It’s always tough to separate player performance from coaching contributions, but Hyers has been around a lot of success lately. He will now take that to his hometown team, something that he is surely excited about. Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on X, Hyers still lives in the Atlanta area.
While it’s a nice homecoming for Hyers, the Rangers will now have to embark on a search for his replacement as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season. In a column at the Dallas Morning News, Grant says the club will look to make a new hire, even though they still have bench coach/offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker on the staff.