Brewers name Johnny Narron as Hitting Coach

If that name makes you do a double take, its because his brother is already the Brewers Bench Coach (he of the calligraphy lineup cards). The hitting coach spot was vacated when Dale Sveum was hired to be the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Johnny Narron has previously worked in the Brewers minor league system as the manager of Rookie-level Helena and hitting coach at the A and High-A levels. For the past five years, Johnny has worked with the Reds and Rangers as a personal mentor to Josh Hamilton. Originally hired in Cincinnati by brother Jerry as a video coach, Johnny became close to Hamilton, who has struggled with drug addiction. Frankly, its not exactly clear what specific duties Johnny had, but its said that he helped Hamilton become the hitter he is today and helped him stay on the straight and narrow. Johnny received a one-year contract. Here's the most germane quote from his introduction: "I want our offense to play the game the way it's supposed to be played. We're going to be aggressive in the strike zone, we're going to move runners when necessary, we're going to be able to get runners in. We want to be mentally tough when we have two strikes. We want to put pressure on the pitcher. "We're also going to stress quality, team plate appearances. That's something that we're really going to focus on, and that encompasses baseball instincts and baseball awareness. Beyond that, I try to keep things as simple as possible."