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Cubs welcome Jaramillo to Wrigley Field

Posted October 21, 2009 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

Rudy Jaramillo Associated Press

According to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, he didn't hire just any hitting coach Wednesday.

He said the Cubs hired "the best hitting coach in major-league baseball: Rudy Jaramillo."

"We're thrilled to have him," Hendry said at a Wrigley Field news conference. "We feel like we're the beneficiary of good timing. I think Rudy feels the same way.

"When you get an opportunity to put somebody in place that is so well respected and so universally considered at the top of his profession, you certainly jump at the chance that, and that's what we did."

Reacting almost reflexively, Hendry took less than one week to hire the 59-year-old Jaramillo, who declined a one-year contract extension from the Texas Rangers, for whom he served as hitting coach for 15 years.

Jaramillo gets a three-year contract worth about $2.4 million, a deal approved by the Cubs' presumptive new owners, the Ricketts family.

As happy as Hendry seemed to have Jaramillo, the coach seemed just as happy to be leaving his native Texas to come to Chicago.

"I used to be with the Astros from '90-93, and obviously we came here every year, and for whatever reason, I felt something special here," he said. "I thought I was going to get that same feeling in Yankee Stadium and Fenway (Park), and it didn't happen.

"I've always kept it in mind, following the Cubs. It wasn't a decision I just made all of a sudden. I was already thinking this summer if things didn't work out in Texas where I'd want to go, and this is the place I've always thought about."

Jaramillo is walking into a situation similar to the one he just left.

The Rangers' offense suffered a big falloff in several key offensive categories, such as runs scored and on-base percentage, much as the Cubs' did from 2008 to 2009.

The Cubs went through two hitting coaches in Gerald Perry and Von Joshua. The Rangers' brass expressed some disappointment in a high number of strikeouts and a low number of walks by their batters.

Jaramillo seemed to touch on that when asked if he had an overriding philosophy of hitting.

"That question always comes up, that 'Texas hitters are always trying to hit home runs; they don't walk enough,'" he said. "I don't preach home runs. I think every hitting coach tries to teach the game. The game dictates what you do.

"I think my method is mechanically, or trying to be a technician. I think I'm really good at that. That's allowed a hitter to get into an athletic position, to get recognition, to back the ball up, and good things happen when you do that. That's where the power probably comes, that we've hit with a lot of power in Texas. A lot of people give the credit to the park. That's a big park. You've still got to do the right thing: execute at home plate."

The Cubs have low-maintenance hitting stars such as Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

Jaramillo coached high-priced left fielder Alfonso Soriano in Texas for two seasons, in 2004 and 2005, and the Cubs are confident Jaramillo can help Soriano and less-experienced hitters such as Geovany Soto and Ryan Theriot, all of whom fell off this year.

Part of his role is of that as a "fixer" but he said he does not force one approach on all hitters.

"I think that's one I'm best at, helping those hitters that have the talent, and maybe they're caught in-between," he said.

Hendry cited word-of-mouth from other hitting coaches as well as the success Jaramillo had with onetime Cub Mark DeRosa and others in Texas.

"It's just experience and having a lot of relationships with players and the respect factor they have for him," Hendry said. "I had a lot of chats with Sori and DeRosa, a couple years ago, and Rudy's name always came up.

"All hitting coaches at the big-league level are very good. A lot of the ones I've talked to over the years classify themselves with confidence that they're very good. But they always put the guy next to me as the cut above, as the guru of it."

Rudy Jaramillo Ross D. Franklin

Texas Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo tips his hat to the crowd after accepting an award from The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels. Associated Press

Texas Rangers' Sammy Sosa, left, and batting coach Rudy Jaramillo, center, look up at the scoreboard as a replay shows Sosa's 600th career home run in 2007. Associated Press

The Rudy Jaramillo file Age: 59 Born: Sept. 20, 1950 in Beeville, Texas Family: Lives in Dallas with wife Shelley; they have two grown children, Julie and Justin College: Panola Junior College and the University of Texas MLB playing career: Picked in 19th round of the 1973 Draft as an outfielder and spent four seasons in the minors until injury ended his career. In college, batted .402 in 1971 and .398 in 1972. Previous job: 15 seasons as hitting coach with Texas, 4 seasons with Houston Big numbers: With Jaramillo, Rangers scored more than 800 runs in 13 consecutive seasons, the longest streak since Yankees had 17 straight from 1926-42. His players have won 17 Silver Slugger Awards, three home run title, three RBI titles, one batting champion and four Most Valuable Player awards. The quote: "Rudy Jaramillo is widely regarded as the premiere hitting instructor in the game," said Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Honors: Baseball America Major League Coach of the Year (2005), Texas Baseball Hall of Fame (2002), Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame (2008), Panola College Hall of Fame (2008) He coached: Jeff Bagwell (Rookie of Year 1990), Juan Gonzalez (MVP 1996, 1998), Ivan Rodriguez (MVP 1999) and Alex Rodriguez (MVP 2003), Michael Young (AL batting title 2005), Mark Teixeira. Source: mlb.com, baseball-reference.com, Cubs Jaramillo's principles of hitting Jaramillo's five-step process for hitting was broken down in a Sporting News article (Aug. 30, 2004), with this quote from him: "Really, the swing is just a transfer of energy from the feet to the hands using rhythm. It's not like I invented the swing or am trying to reinvent it." See the ball: Pick up the ball from the pitcher's release point. This gives the hitter more time to recognize the pitch. Rhythm: Every swing is based on timing. Different hitters have different timing mechanisms, including a foot tap or a leg kick. Jaramillo doesn't care what the mechanism is, so long as a hitter is comfortable with one, trusts it and sticks with it. Separation: Get in a good hitting position by separating the front foot from the hands. They go in opposite directions. Stay square: Staying closed keeps the front shoulder and hips in so a hitter can see the ball a fraction of a second longer. It "backs the ball up." This allows the batter to use the entire field. Weight shift: Jaramillo stresses that the bottom half of the body is a huge factor in a consistent swing. As hitters separate and stay square, they must not be lunging toward the ball. Shifting weight at the proper time allows them to drive the ball. <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=330838">Cubs insist Jaramillo hire not connected to Bradley [10/21/09]</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>

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