By Michael Heilman

The Philadelphia Phillies have found their hitting coach by hiring Washington Nationals assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon. Dillon replaces Charlie Manuel, who served as a temporary hitting coach after the Phillies fired John Mallee.

Dillon, 44, played four years with the Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays from 2005-09. Dillon retired from baseball in 2010. His batting average was .263 with 57 hits, 35 runs, 19 RBI’s, 1 stolen base, and 3 home runs. Dillon also played for the Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific League and Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball.

After his retirement, Dillon began his coaching career in 2013, when the Washington Nationals hired him to be the hitting coach for their AAA team Syracuse Chiefs. He then became the Miami Marlins minor league hitting coordinator in 2016 and 2017. Dillon then returned to the Washington Nationals this time as an assistant hitting coach to Kevin Long, who was Girardi’s hitting coach with the Yankees from 2008-14.

In an article by Phillies Writer Todd Zolecki, Phillies Manager Joe Girardi is really high on Dillon saying “I was impressed with Joe’s knowledge of swing mechanics and his ideas on how you combat today’s power pitchers,” Girardi added “He has great drills to use to prepare hitters for velocity. Also, Joe was a big part of prepping the Nationals hitters during their week off in between the NLCS and the World Series. I’m really happy we were able to add someone like him to our coaching staff.”