Photo via @Dbacks on twitter
The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Tuesday that they hired Phillies Assistant Pitching Coach/Director of Pitching Brian Kaplan to be their new head Pitching Coach.
The #Dbacks have hired Brian Kaplan as pitching coach.
Welcome to Arizona, Brian! 🏜️ pic.twitter.com/HkxvPmEVWf
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) November 12, 2024
The Phillies hired Kaplan in 2022. Previously, he founded his own sports training facility for amateurs in Jupiter, FL and co-founded the highly-regarded Cressey Sports Performance training facility for pro ballplayers.
"Brian really understands how the body works," then-Phillies GM Sam Fuld told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki in 2022. “He understands what things need to be done in the weight room, the training room, to accomplish what you want on the bump. He knows what questions to ask. He can speak the same language and work with people in multiple departments and help connect the dots."
© Nathan Ray Seebeck | 2023 Feb 23Kaplan discussed his coaching philosophy a bit in the same Zolecki piece: "It’s not always the guy who throws the hardest or hits the ball the farthest. It’s the guy that knows how to control his body, knows how to repeat it, knows how to manage it over the course of the season."
He pitched for the University of Notre Dame (2000-2001) and Santa Fe College (2001-2002), but his career was cut short by what's now known as thoracic outlet syndrome.
Kaplan replaces Brent Strom, who served as the Diamondbacks' pitching coach for three years before Arizona fired him at the end of the 2024 season. Strom, 75, had long been considered one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. But after their pitching staff posted a 4.62 ERA in '24, the Dbacks cleaned house, firing not just Strom but Assistant Pitching Coach Dan Carlson and Bullpen Coach Mike Fetters.
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