Phillies fire hitting coach John Mallee, replace him with Charlie Manuel

Hold onto your seats.

According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Charlie Manuel, the winningest manager in franchise history, is taking over as the Philadelphia Phillies hitting coach, as they have fired John Mallee. (The Phillies have since confirmed the move.)

2019 was Mallee’s second year as hitting coach, and despite adding Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, among others, this past offseason, the Phillies have the 19th ranked offense in the sport. Notably, Rhys Hoskins is hitting .186 since the All-Star Break.

Manuel, presided over the most successful era in franchise history, as the Phillies won five consecutive National League East titles between 2007 and 2011, including winning the 2008 World Series. In total, he was the Phillies manager from 2005 until being fired in August of 2013. His record as Phillies skipper was 780-636. He was inducted onto the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2014.

Here’s a fun fact, the last time that Manuel was a hitting coach was in 1999. Bill Clinton was president of the United States, and as Cleveland Indians hitting coach, he got to work with a lineup that included Hall of Famer Jim Thome, Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Hall of Famer Harold Baines, Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel and Manny Ramirez.

We’ll have more as this story develops…

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