Slaught: Good hitters take similar approaches

CHICAGO -- Don Slaught, the Tigers' new hitting coach, knows something few people would guess.

He knows that Mickey Mantle and Ichiro Suzuki have approached hitting exactly the same way.

Mantle remains memorable for epic power, and Suzuki is known for line drives that can land anywhere. At first glance, they would seem the epitomes of different species.

During an interview Tuesday, Slaught displayed over the Internet several photos of each man at identical points in his swing. At each juncture, the mechanics of Mantle and Suzuki were identical.

Slaught doesn't have those photos by accident. After his lengthy career as a big-league catcher, he founded a company (RightViewPro) devoted to video instruction on hitting.

"He's more of the show mode than the tell mode," new Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

It's a big reason Leyland wanted Slaught on his coaching staff, which was announced Tuesday, minus the pitching coach. Leyland hired Slaught among the five coaches he said last week that he wanted.

The balance of the staff: Gene Lamont (third base and bench coach), Lloyd McClendon (bullpen, Rafael Belliard (infield) and Andy Van Slyke (outfield, baserunning and first base).

Chicago Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild turned down a three-year offer Monday to be Leyland's pitching coach. Leyland now will reduce a long list of pitching-coach possibilities to a short list of candidates.

The Mantle-Suzuki comparison provides a taste of a central belief of Slaught: The best hitters, despite differences in their stances, do things the same way once they start their swings.

"They have an efficient way to generate energy and give themselves the best way to hit the ball," said Slaught, a catcher in the big leagues for 16 years.

When Leyland thought about the Tigers' offensive weaknesses, he thought about how Slaught could fix the problems.

"His theories are a nice combination of power plus contact," Leyland said. "That's the thing I like the most. He's not going to turn our hitters into Punch and Judy hitters. They will still hit with power. And Don will try to make sure that our situational hitting improves."

Slaught, 47, will not be a dictator hitting coach. He will not insist that his players absorb all his theories.

"I don't care if they know anything about hitting as long as they know what it feels like to do it right," he said.
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Action proves louder than words and from what I get that's how Slaught exactly feels. This guy seems pretty smart and hopefully he can help improve our hitters.