Reports: Cubs will part ways with yet another hitting coach
At some point, the Cubs need to stop blaming the hitting coach for their offensive struggles.
This is not the time, apparently.
According to multiple reports, the Cubs will part ways with hitting coach Anthony Iapoce. FanSided's Robert Murray was first with the news.
Iapoce became the Cubs hitting coach in October 2018 after holding the same position with the Texas Rangers for three years. Prior to that, Iapoce was the Cubs' minor-league hitting coordinator from 2013-15 and worked with many of the key players from the 2016 World Series team.
When Kris Bryant learned that he'd been traded to San Francisco on July 30, it was Iapoce he hugged in the Washington visitors dugout while wiping away tears.
With this news, the Cubs have now parted ways with nine different hitting coaches or assistant hitting coaches over the past 10 years. Besides Iapoce, the list includes Rudy Jaramillo, James Rowson, Bill Mueller, John Malle, Chili Davis, and assistants Rob Deer, Mike Brumley and Terrmel Sledge.
As the Cubs embark on their new direction, it's been clear they want to be better at making contact and succeeding in situational hitting.
This was a strange season at the plate.
The Cubs had a dismal offense for the first three weeks of the season, then turned it around and were sixth in MLB with a .765 OPS during May.
Then they slumped again and ranked 29th in the league in June at .630. Eventually, though, September was their best month, ranking fifth in MLB with a .796 OPS as Frank Schwindel, Ian Happ, Matt Duffy and Willson Contreras finished the season strong.
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