World Series: Batting Coach Kevin Long Helps Phillies Adjust

PHILADELPHIA — Forty-two players have appeared on a World Series roster for three different franchises. The list stretches from Don Baylor to Ben Zobrist, with big names (Roger Clemens), funny names (Stuffy McInnis) and forgotten names (Franklin Morales) in between.

Of that group, only one player, the longtime outfielder Lonnie Smith, made it with four teams: Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City and Atlanta, from 1980 through 1992. The coaching equivalent of Smith is in the Phillies’ dugout for this year’s World Series.

He is Kevin Long, the Philadelphia hitting coach, who never reached Major League Baseball as a player. Long, a former outfielder, spent eight seasons in the Royals’ farm system, hitting .273 with 14 home runs from 1989 to 1996. He found his calling by helping other hitters, and everywhere he has gone in the majors, his teams have won a pennant.

Long, 55, coached for the Yankees from 2007 through 2014, helping them win the 2009 World Series. Then came a three-year stint with the Mets that included a National League pennant in 2015. During Long’s four-year stay in Washington, the Nationals won the title in 2019. Now he has made it with the Phillies.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/sports/baseball/kevin-long-phillies-world-series.html