Kevin Richard Long (born December 30, 1966) is an American former minor league baseball player and the current

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has formerly served as the hitting coach for the New York Yankees (2007–14), New York Mets (2015–17) and Washington Nationals (2018–21).

Playing career

Long graduated from

Thunderbird High School Thunderbird High School is a public high school located in northwestern Phoenix, Arizona. The school is a part of the Glendale Union High School District. Feeder schools Some schools in the Washington Elementary School District feed into Thunder ...

in Phoenix, Arizona. Long was a second-team All-American in 1989 at the University of Arizona and was also named first-team Pac-10 that year. A three-year letter-winner, Long still holds the Arizona record for most extra-base hits in a game (five) and ranks in the top-10 in several different statistical categories (second, extra-base hits; sixth, doubles; seventh, multi-hit games; eighth, total bases; ninth, runs scored). Long was selected by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in the 31st round of the

1989 Major League Baseball Draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

. He played in the Royals system for eight seasons, from 1989 until 1996. Long led Class-A Eugene in 1989 in games played, at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, and RBIs. He also ranked eighth among all Northwest League hitters with his .312 batting average in his rookie season. He missed most of the 1994 season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist.

Coaching career

At the end of spring training in 1997, Long, who was assigned to the Triple-A Omaha Royals, decided to retire, asking instead for a coaching job. Long made his professional managing debut with the Class-A Wilmington Blue Rocks in 1997. He was named the Northwest League's co-Manager of the Year after leading the Spokane Indians to the league title in 1999. Long served as the hitting coach in the Royals organization with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers (2000–01) and Triple-A Omaha Royals (2002–03). He became the hitting coach for the Yankees' Triple-A team, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, from 2004 to 2006. Long was promoted to hitting coach for the New York Yankees in 2007. Long guided a Yankees offense that ranked first in MLB in runs (968), hits (1,656), home runs (201), RBIs (929), team batting average (.290), slugging percentage (.463), on-base percentage (.366) and total bases (2,649). The 968 runs were the most in franchise history since 1937 (979). His offense also featured the

American League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

Alex Rodriguez, three Silver Sluggers (

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

Jorge Posada Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Posada recorded a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and ...

and Rodriguez) and four of the American League's top-15 batting averages. After a down year offensively in 2008, Long's Yankee hitters again led the league in offense during the 2009 season, in which they also won the franchise's 27th World Series title, and led the American League in runs again. Following the 2010 season, the Yankees signed Long to a three-year contract. He was fired following the 2014 season. On October 23, 2014, Long was hired by the New York Mets to be their hitting coach. After being turned down by the Mets for their open managerial position, Long left the team and became the hitting coach of the Washington Nationals on November 2, 2017. The team then won the World Series in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. That year the Nationals led the National League in on-base percentage and were in the top 10 in MLB in most other batting categories.

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

was named an All-Star and Silver Slugger at third base and outfielder

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nation ...

became a household name. In October 2021, Long left the Nationals to become the hitting coach of the

, reuniting him with former Yankees manager

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

Personal life

When Long was still a player (though he does not remember which year), he suffered an accident during an offseason job with a drywall company, when a 25-pound sledgehammer hit him in the left eye, shattering three bones. Long resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with wife, Marcey, daughter, Britney, and sons Tracy and Jaron. Jaron played professional baseball in the Yankees and Nationals organizations. During the offseason, Long works part-time for organizations such as MVP Sports Camps.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Kevin 1966 births Living people Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball City Royals players Baseball coaches from Arizona Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Baseball players from Scottsdale, Arizona Eugene Emeralds players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Memphis Chicks players New York Mets coaches New York Yankees coaches Omaha Royals players Spokane Indians managers Washington Nationals coaches Wichita Wranglers players