Braves coaching hire should have Mets pitchers thrilled to face them

All of the hubbub on Friday had to do with the non-tender deadline. However, there were more happenings around Major League Baseball than just players getting cut. New York Mets fans have come to appreciate and sometimes envy the moves made by the Atlanta Braves. It seems like they can do no wrong. Trade for a broken Chris Sale, he wins a Cy Young.

Well, they made a hire that’ll make us question where their heads are currently at. Remember Hugh Quattlebaum? He’s back and in Braves assistant hitting coach form.

Here’s the skinny on the latest Braves hire, Hugh Quattlebaum, for Mets fans who forgot

Where have I seen this name before? Quattlebaum is such a unique name that once it enters your consciousness you’ll never forget it. It’s like Oglethorpe or Saltalamacchia. Quattlebaum, as the press release reminded us, was a member of the Mets organization in the past. He was the replacement the team went with in May of 2021 after Chili Davis was fired as the hitting coach. Donnie Stevenson must’ve turned down the role.

The 2021 Mets weren’t known for their offense. Francisco Lindor had his worst year since joining the Mets. Michael Conforto had a terrible season before reaching free agency. It was the first time we saw cracks in Jeff McNeil’s game. After receiving MVP consideration in the prior 60-game shortened season, Dominic Smith regressed back to his old ways.

Quattlebaum doesn’t get the blame for the shortcomings of the 2021 Mets. They suffered a lot of injuries and had to paste together an outfield early on in the year.

The firing of Davis occurred when the team was hitting just .241. They’d finished with a .239 combined batting average on the season. The change did nothing. Quattlebaum was not the solution. Their 636 runs scored is the lowest amount in a full year since 2014. Several years removed from the position, he’ll be tasked to help a Braves lineup that underachieved in 2024.

Quattlebaum is a fun name to say. Maybe he’ll have more luck with the Braves than he did with the Mets. We can only hope not.