Braves replace Kevin Seitzer with another World Series champion and Atlanta native

The Atlanta Braves have replaced hitting coach Kevin Seitzer after a difficult year on and off the field. Seitzer struggled to keep the Braves hitters focused in the box, and that showed. However, it's tough to put all the blame of Seitzer, especially considering what he was going through at home.

Seitzer's wife, Beth, was diagnosed with colon cancer. While she thankfully received emergency surgery and is now on the other side of her health scare, Seitzer struggled to stay focused on the day-to-day job duties of what he considered the toughest season of his career.

“It was the hardest season of my life, because guys were trying so hard and couldn’t get going, and I couldn’t get them to (not press),” Seitzer said in an interview with The Athletic's David O'Brien. “If they can find somebody to get these guys to not try so hard, that needs to be the guy they hire. You can talk about mechanics until the cows come home, but this (struggles this season) was all between the ears.”

When teams fail to live up to expectations, there's always a fall guy. In this case, it was Seitzer and catching coach Sal Fasano. Seitzer was one of the longest-tenured members of manager Brian Snitker's coaching staff.

Braves replace Kevin Seitzer with a former World Series champion

Replacing someone with Seitzer's pedigree is easier said than done. Alex Anthopoulos took his first swing at it on Thursday, announcing the team has hired former Texas Rangers hitting coach Tim Hyers.

Hyers' Rangers won the first ever team silver slugger award in 2023. Texas also won the World Series that year. In his career, Hyers has coached 12 silver sluggers. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Rangers compiled the third-most runs and home runs in the American League during Hyers three years in charge.