4 updated hitting coach ideas for the Cardinals after Turner Ward's firing

These four candidates would all help the St. Louis Cardinals' sputtering offense in 2025.

St. Louis Cardinals v New York Yankees
St. Louis Cardinals v New York Yankees | Jim McIsaac/GettyImages
3 of 5

Kevin Seitzer

Kevin Seitzer actually made my list back in August, but things have changed quite dramatically for Seitzer since then. At the time of publication, Seitzer's inclusion on my list received some flak. Fans were adamant that the Atlanta Braves would retain him for 2025, but that didn't end up being true.

The Braves fired Seitzer on October 10th after coaching in Atlanta for a decade. Seitzer resides in a suburb of Kansas City, and the 2024 season was tumultuous for him in more ways than one. On the field, the Braves experienced multiple injuries to stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II. It would be tough for any hitting coach to make up for those losses.

Off the field, Seitzer's wife was battling cancer for the second time in her life, this time colon cancer. Seitzer, in an interview with The Athletic, spoke of this battle. “She beat cancer for the second time,” Seitzer said of Beth, who battled ovarian cancer 20 years ago. “Going through what we did with that this year, and to be able to come out on the other side, I couldn’t be more thankful."

Since 2021, the Braves have had the 4th-best wRC+ (109), the second-best OPS (.772), and the 4th-best team batting average (.254), and those figures include a down 2024 season. They've also led the league in home runs since 2021 along with scoring the second-most runs in baseball in that time.

Seitzer, 62, would, in theory, provide a boost to the Cardinals' offense if he were to join the staff. He's a midwestern man who was born in Springfield, Illinois, and has spent a lot of his playing and coaching time with Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. He would be an excellent outside hire for the organization, and he would hopefully be able to turn the tides in St. Louis.

Schedule