Phillies firing of Kevin Long is a NY Mets “what if?” reminder

Kevin Long won’t be back with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2027 season. In what could be an offseason of major changes, they’ve chosen to scapegoat the hitting coach by firing him. He held the same job position for the New York Mets from 2015-2017 and then joined the Washington Nationals from 2018-2021.

Long is credited for Daniel Murphy’s late 2015 power surge in the postseason. The two reunited briefly at the start of the 2018 campaign with the Nationals. Murphy was traded mid-year but a season later, the 2019 Nationals with rookie Juan Soto as one of their stars won the World Series.

Now two decades in essentially the same role, having been the New York Yankees hitting coach from 2007-2014, Long is a seasoned sultan of the swing. Parked in a small geographical area with both New York teams followed by D.C. and then Philly, one has to figure the Van Nuys, California native is either interested in staying in the Northeast or finally ready to head back home.

In either case, he’s an intriguing option for the Mets to hire in any capacity. Moreover, his firing is a reminder of two different “what if?” scenarios in Queens.

What if the Mets hired Kevin Long to become the manager instead of Mickey Callaway?

Before jumping ship to join the Nationals, Long was a managerial candidate for the Mets in the post-Terry Collins world. They ended up going with Mickey Callaway, a pitching coach coming over from the Cleveland Indians. The pitching-focused Mets must’ve believed that, despite there being so few ex-pitchers managing in the game, having that added input would be helpful.

Callaway was never well-received. Inexperienced in the role, his reputation later became tarnished a few years after the Mets fired him when he was accused of lewd behavior by several women.

The Mets weren’t successful under Callaway. He added to the circus that became the 2018 and 2019 Mets led by Brodie Van Wagenen, another questionable hire of someone better suited for another role. BVW doesn’t get the blame for Callaway, though. He was hired a few weeks after.

Long, meanwhile, thrived with the Nationals and later the Phillies. He has been held in high regard as a hitting coach for several years. The Phillies firing him now is probably not all that much different from the Mets letting go of Jeremy Hefner. Something had to happen. The Mets pitching underachieved in 2025 just as Philadelphia’s offense put together a poor showing in 2026.

How would things have gone for the Mets if they ended up with Long in the manager’s seat in 2018? It’s a discussion nobody can answer because Long, now 59, has never received a shot to actually manage in the big leagues. Ironically, the Mets shifted away from being pitching dominant under Callaway. In part, the 2019 juiced baseballs and legendary rookie performance by Pete Alonso changed the club’s reputation.

For sure, Mets history isn’t any worse with Long hired as the manager. What might change most is the outcome for the Nationals in 2019 as he’s most likely not their hitting coach. There would have been added coaching consistency from the Collins to the Long tenure rather than bringing in an outside voice we didn’t need.

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