Orioles Hire Harford JUCO coach for minor league hitting coach

[MCO'sFan]

23 hours ago, now said:

Agree. At first I read Melewski's piece to say Eller was new minors hitting coordinator, then was deflated to hear it was just for Aberdeen. Sounds like an awesome skill set, in any case. Gotta start somewhere!

I will be most interested to see a few things. It is an interesting hire to be sure. I am fairly certain that he has no pro experience either as a player or a coach but he was doing some associate scouting for someone... I don't remember who.  

I am anxious to see if he implements his philosophy completely and if so, how that translates to the pros. Please don't jump on me for these questions. They are legit questions and I know his teams very well.

1. They play in a conference that has only two other D1 teams and those other two teams are up and down. Most of their conference games are against D2 and D3 teams. They hit average pitching very well but they strike out a lot even against average pitching. Will they hit good pitching consistently enough to off set the high K's?

2. He recruits really well and has built up a good network to feed his program. His program routinely gets many transfers from fairly big D1 schools like Maryland, East Carolina, etc... So his teams are much more talented than his opponents. How will it play out when the talent level is more even?

3. Harford has a smallish field and the ball carries very well there. We have played them on larger fields and have beaten them fairly often. (Although, not in the last two years). Do the HR turn into fly outs?

I am rooting for Tom because I like him as a person. Because he is a fellow JuCo guy who has done well for himself and most of all because I want the Orioles to succeed. I am just a little skeptical at the boards reaction because there have been a lot of complaining about high K rates. I think that we are still in the honeymoon period where everything they do is great. I expect that if DD had hired a JuCo guy with no pro experience on a team with high strikeout rates that it would not have been as well received. If things go south, please be gentle.

[now]

21 minutes ago, MCO'sFan said:

I will be most interested to see a few things. It is an interesting hire to be sure. I am fairly certain that he has no pro experience either as a player or a coach but he was doing some associate scouting for someone... I don't remember who.  

I am anxious to see if he implements his philosophy completely and if so, how that translates to the pros. Please don't jump on me for these questions. They are legit questions and I know his teams very well.

1. They play in a conference that has only two other D1 teams and those other two teams are up and down. Most of their conference games are against D2 and D3 teams. They hit average pitching very well but they strike out a lot even against average pitching. Will they hit good pitching consistently enough to off set the high K's?

2. He recruits really well and has built up a good network to feed his program. His program routinely gets many transfers from fairly big D1 schools like Maryland, East Carolina, etc... So his teams are much more talented than his opponents. Who will it play out when the talent level is more even?

3. Harford has a smallish field and the ball carries very well there. We have played them on larger fields and have beaten them fairly often. (Although, not in the last two years). Do the HR turn into fly outs?

I am rooting for Tom because I like him as a person. Because he is a fellow JuCo guy who has done well for himself and most of all because I want the Orioles to succeed. I am just a little skeptical at the boards reaction because there have been a lot of complaining about high K rates. I think that we are still in the honeymoon period where everything they do is great. I expect that if DD had hired a JuCo guy with no pro experience on a team with high strikeout rates that it would not have been as well received. If things go south, please be gentle.

Great questions... Thanks for the additional insights!

[Number5]

2 hours ago, MCO'sFan said:

I will be most interested to see a few things. It is an interesting hire to be sure. I am fairly certain that he has no pro experience either as a player or a coach but he was doing some associate scouting for someone... I don't remember who.  

I am anxious to see if he implements his philosophy completely and if so, how that translates to the pros. Please don't jump on me for these questions. They are legit questions and I know his teams very well.

1. They play in a conference that has only two other D1 teams and those other two teams are up and down. Most of their conference games are against D2 and D3 teams. They hit average pitching very well but they strike out a lot even against average pitching. Will they hit good pitching consistently enough to off set the high K's?

2. He recruits really well and has built up a good network to feed his program. His program routinely gets many transfers from fairly big D1 schools like Maryland, East Carolina, etc... So his teams are much more talented than his opponents. How will it play out when the talent level is more even?

3. Harford has a smallish field and the ball carries very well there. We have played them on larger fields and have beaten them fairly often. (Although, not in the last two years). Do the HR turn into fly outs?

I am rooting for Tom because I like him as a person. Because he is a fellow JuCo guy who has done well for himself and most of all because I want the Orioles to succeed. I am just a little skeptical at the boards reaction because there have been a lot of complaining about high K rates. I think that we are still in the honeymoon period where everything they do is great. I expect that if DD had hired a JuCo guy with no pro experience on a team with high strikeout rates that it would not have been as well received. If things go south, please be gentle.

I doubt if Harford hit any home runs to center field at Montgomery College, unless it was inside the park.  You've got to hit it about six miles to put it out there, IIRC.  

[MCO'sFan]

21 minutes ago, Number5 said:

I doubt if Harford hit any home runs to center field at Montgomery College, unless it was inside the park.  You've got to hit it about six miles to put it out there, IIRC.  

Well, we combined programs about 6 years ago and we play most of our games at Germantown which is a very small field. But, your right, dead center at Rockville is about 450 and right center is over 500 ft. But, the power alleys are a little close at 340 (approximate). The lines are only about 305-310

Edited January 30, 2019 by MCO'sFan

[Number5]

12 minutes ago, MCO'sFan said:

Well, we combined programs about 6 years ago and we play most of our games at Germantown which is a very small field. But, your right, dead center at Rockville is about 450 and right center is over 500 ft. But, the power alleys are a little close at 340 (approximate)

Thanks.  Yeah, I remembered it was really far to center.

[Frobby]

https://www.cecildaily.com/spotlight/elkton-s-tom-eller-settling-in-as-ironbirds-hitting-coach/article_0a1e9c54-b65e-50bd-bab5-0dbadc9bfcdb.html