After a rough month of September, Atlanta Braves fans at least received a little bit of good news just before October rolls around. Larry Parrish, the Braves' highly criticized and maligned hitting coach from this past season, will not return in 2012.
This comes just one day after manager Fredi Gonzalez told the media his entire coaching staff would return. That is no longer the case with Parrish, though everyone else is indeed returning.
This is great news.
As for Parrish, his preaching of an aggressive approach at the plate probably cost the Braves a spot in the playoffs. A team that led the league in walks and on-base percentage in 2010 ranked among the lowest in all of baseball this year. And that was with the emergence of Freddie Freeman, the additions of Dan Uggla and Michael Bourn, and a healthy Chipper Jones throughout the season.
This is a big step forward for the organization. Now let's get a hitting coach who actually knows what he's doing.