Steve Henderson: Phillies Hitting Coach
Today at TBOH we’ll continue with the 6th in my 9-part series on the Phillies’ uniformed coaching staff with a look at the club’s Hitting Coach, Steve Henderson.
Henderson began his career in pro baseball when he was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 5th round of the 1974 MLB Draft. In June of 1977, Henderson was dealt along with 3 other players to the New York Mets in exchange for future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
Henderson was part of a 1977 trade from the Reds to the Mets for Tom Seaver.
He was immediately called up to make his big league debut with the Mets, and burst into the majors with a stellar rookie campaign that placed him second in NL ROY voting to Andre Dawson. Henderson batted .297 with a dozen homers, and led the team with 65 RBI despite playing for just the final 3 1/2 months.
In parts of 12 major league seasons, Henderson batted .280 with 68 home runs, 79 stolen bases, and 428 RBI for the Mets, Cubs, Mariners, Athletics, and Astros.
In 1990, just two years after he retired from playing, Henderson joined the Pirates’ system as a minor league coach. In 1994, Henderson moved on and became a coach with the Astros. By 1995 he was promoted to the Hitting Coach position with Houston.
In 1997, Henderson embarked on a long stint with the Tampa Bay Rays organization that would last until 2009. He served as a minor league hitting coordinator in 1997 and again from 1999-2005. In the other years, 1998 and 2006-09, Henderson was Tampa Bay’s big league Hitting Coach. This included during the Rays run to the 2008 World Series vs the Phillies.
“…it’s always the pitching coaches and hitting coaches that get fired, but I didn’t see one pitching coach throw a ball, I didn’t see one hitting coach swing the bat.” ~ Steve Henderson
Henderson first came to the Phillies system in 2010 to be both a minor league outfield and base running coordinator. He was once again a minor league hitting coordinator in the 2011-12 seasons. Henderson became the team’s Hitting Coach on October 4, 2012 after the Phillies opted to not bring back Greg Gross for the 2013 season.
Henderson’s responsibilities as the major league Hitting Coach include helping the players to improve their hitting style and approach, watching over batting practice and cage sessions, pointing out any in-game swing issues, and even watching film to study the player swings and scout the pitchers they may face.
Henderson had a pretty successful career as a hitter, but that has not translated so far with the Phillies. A year ago, the Phillies offense ranked just 23rd in runs scored with 619, and 24th in batting average with a .242 mark. In fact, there were rumblings as the season ended the he might not be asked back for the 2015 season.
More from Phillies News
- How will Rob Thomson manage the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen in 2023?
- How Phillies’ Ranger Suárez is set to build on 2022 postseason dominance
- What can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?
- 3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
At that time, Henderson’s frustration showed in this quote in a piece (linked above) by Meghan Montemurro at The News Journal: “The funny thing about that is it’s always the pitching coaches and hitting coaches that get fired, but I didn’t see one pitching coach throw a ball, I didn’t see one hitting coach swing the bat.”
Steve Henderson survives in his role, for now. His ability to get increased production out of what may simply be a team loaded with players whose skills are deteriorating due to age, or are too young to manifest yet at the highest levels, or who simply are not very talented, will determine just how long he sticks around.