As a budding star with the Washington Nationals, Soto was tight with Kevin Long, the team’s hitting coach. When Soto debuted in 2018, Long helped him become one of the best young hitters in the game. But when Long left the Nationals for the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2021 season, Soto had lost his guide.
Kevin Long was so good to me that when he left, it was tough to get another guy,” Soto said in the New York Yankees’ clubhouse this week.
But luckily for Soto, Pat Roessler was there as the assistant hitting coach to help soften the blow.
And luckily for the Yankees, they were able to bring in Roessler this offseason as their assistant hitting coach to aid Soto in what they hope will be the first of many seasons in The Bronx.
“He’s been helping me out big-time,” Soto said.
Roessler, however, said Soto deserves all the praise.
“He’s great,” Roessler said. “He’s so fun to work with.”
In the winter, when the Yankees were looking to hire James Rowson to take over as the team’s primary hitting coach, he asked Roessler — a 64-year-old whose career coaching in baseball began at Old Dominion University in 1983 — if he would consider joining him on the staff.
Roessler, a Phoenix native, started his pro career in the Chicago White Soxorganization in 1988 and has served as the primary big-league hitting coach for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. He’s also worked as a minor-league hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros.
