Diamondbacks fire hitting coach Seitzer, promote Schu

PHOENIX (TICKER) —The Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Wednesday they have replaced hitting coach Kevin Seitzer with the organization’s hitting coordinator, Rick Schu.

Schu, 45, is in his 10th season with the Diamondbacks franchise. This will be his second stint as the major league hitting coach, having also held the post in 2004. He served as the club’s hitting coordinator - overseeing hitting instruction for Arizona’s farm system - in 2003 and from 2005-07.

With Schu as the club’s hitting coordinator in 2003, the Diamondbacks’ full-season clubs combined for a .276 batting average - the highest mark among all minor league organizations.

“We felt a change was an appropriate decision based on our offensive struggles,” Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes said. “Kevin Seitzer gave us tremendous passion and effort. Rick Schu has history with a lot of our players, and we feel he can help us improve our performance.”

Schu played parts of nine major league seasons and owns a .246 career average with 13 home runs and 41 RBI in 580 games. He spent the majority of his career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Seitzer, 44, was hired in October 2006. The Diamondbacks currently rank 27th in the majors with a .248 team batting average.