The Mets fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens yesterday. And, after he was let go, he was a pro with the media, sitting for extended interviews and talking openly and honestly about things. He said nice things about Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins too.
He did not, however, have nice things to say about Keith Hernandez and the SNY broadcast team, which had been on his case before he was let go. Marc Carig of Newsday reports that Hudgens is no fan of Hernandez’s repeated on-air comments about how Mets hitters need to be more aggressive as opposed to following Hudgens’ advice about waiting for the right pitch to hit:
“The naysayers, the guys who disapprove of us, the guys who I listen to on TV all the time, those guys that know everything about the game, I’m just amazed at it,” Hudgens said. “What’s wrong with getting a good pitch to hit? Somebody, please punch a hole in that for me. I just shake my head at the old-school guys that have it all figured out. Go up there and swing the bat. Well, what do you want to swing at? It just confounds me. It’s just hilarious, really.
“That’s one thing. I’m glad I don’t have to listen to those guys anymore.”
Philosophies differ, obviously, and Hudgens has every right to defend his approach and dismiss that of outsiders. That said: why is a major league hitting coach listening to the broadcasters in the first place? Let alone, why does he “have to?”
