Get to know trio of former big leaguers on hitting side of O's staff

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Early in the offseason, the Orioles decided they would be promoting Cody Asche from offensive strategy coach to hitting coach. He¡¯d be solo in that role after Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller previously served as co-hitting coaches prior to their departures.

However, Asche would have two assistants. So two months of interviews unfolded as Baltimore looked for the right fits to join Asche on the hitting side of the coaching staff.

At the end of the process, the O¡¯s landed on former Mariners assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph and Sherman Johnson, who will also remain as the organization¡¯s upper-level Minor League hitting coordinator for the 2025 season.

¡°There was a lot of interest in these two openings. Rightfully so,¡± Asche said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to find people when you¡¯re hiring in this type of role that make each other better and they¡¯re not all the same and they bring different things to the table. I¡¯m really excited with how Tommy and Sherm complement me as a hitting coach, how they can push me, how they can keep me in check.¡±

Now that Orioles Spring Training is underway and this trio -- all former MLB players -- has gathered with the team in Sarasota, here¡¯s a closer look at the newly formed hitting staff.

COACH PROFILES
Cody Asche, hitting coach
Age: 34
Playing experience: 371 games with Phillies (2013-16), 19 games with White Sox (¡®17)
Coaching experience: Single-A Clearwater (Phillies) hitting coach (¡®21), O¡¯s upper-level Minor League hitting coordinator (¡®22), O¡¯s offensive strategy coach (¡®23 and ¡®24)

¡°Right now, we¡¯re just kind of finding our ways as a three and seeing where we fit,¡± Asche said. ¡°If that means I take on a little bit heavier workload of just scheduling and the communication parts of things, that¡¯s not unnatural.¡±

Tommy Joseph, assistant hitting coach
Age: 33
Playing experience: 249 games with Phillies (2016 and ¡®17)
Coaching experience: Single-A St. Lucie (Mets) hitting coach (¡®21), Double-A Binghamton (Mets) hitting coach (¡®22), High-A Eugene (Giants) hitting coach (¡®23), Mariners assistant hitting coach (¡®24)

¡°In terms of the environment and the culture, just being here a couple days, you can tell, it¡¯s very special,¡± Joseph said. ¡°They¡¯ve built something very special, and the players are really bought in on everything here.¡±

Sherman Johnson, assistant hitting coach/upper level hitting coordinator
Age: 34
Playing experience: 10 games with Angels (2018)
Coaching experience: Double-A Chesapeake (Orioles) hitting coach (¡®22), O¡¯s upper-level Minor League hitting coordinator (¡®23-24)

¡°I got a little taste of it last year, going to some of the games in Baltimore,¡± Johnson said. ¡°But now, actually being on the staff, it¡¯s been awesome. A lot of the players are guys that I know.¡±

HITTING PHILOSOPHY
Asche doesn¡¯t claim to be a ¡°hitting guru,¡± and his mindset hasn¡¯t changed despite no longer working with Borgschulte and Fuller. In fact, Asche always tries to keep the approach simple.

¡°We want to hit balls hard. We want to hit a lot of line drives. We want to control the zone. We want to make pitchers pay when they don¡¯t pitch to us,¡± Asche said. ¡°We¡¯re shaping swings that when the ball¡¯s in the middle of the plate, we hit them hard. And when we hit those balls hard, they go at productive angles, and those productive angles are hard drives. We are very fortunate here that a lot of our hitters have huge ceilings [and] their line drives go over the wall quite a bit. I know at times it may look like we¡¯re only trying to hit home runs or we¡¯re trying to launch the ball. ¡­ A lot of times, it¡¯s, 'Get a good pitch, hit a line drive, let¡¯s not overcomplicate things.'

¡°Fans at home, I promise you we¡¯re teaching sound baseball philosophy and things that have worked in this game for 200 years, from Ted Williams to Pete Rose to Tony Gwynn. We¡¯re all trying to get a good pitch. We¡¯re all trying to hit hard, long drives.¡±

HITTER¡¯S TESTIMONIAL
First baseman Ryan O¡¯Hearn is 31, so he¡¯s worked with plenty of coaches during his pro career (seven years in the Majors, with four years in the Minors before that). In the early days of camp, he has enjoyed being around the Orioles¡¯ new Asche-led hitting staff.

¡°Cody¡¯s as good as it gets,¡± O¡¯Hearn said. ¡°I think he¡¯s, the last few years, had an opportunity to learn. He¡¯s just like that hitting coach that you want to go to battle with. He knows what it¡¯s like. He¡¯s been in the box. Everything¡¯s been really positive, all of the ideas and all of the philosophies so far. And we have really great hitters on top of that.

¡°I think the combination of our new hitting coaches and the guys we got is going to be a really good mix and we can do some good things.¡±