Sarah Goodrum named Minor League Hitting Coordinator

[PeaveyFury]

Applaud the Brewer organization for this well deserved move.

 

I mean, cool and all, but how is this “well deserved”?

 

Is there any evidence to point to saying it's not?

 

I think the subsequent discussion does suggest I re-phrase this question. If the initial poster was actually asking what about the hire makes Swing and a Drive think it's overdue, that's a very reasonable question to ask.

 

Beyond that, does anyone have any fact-based evidence regarding Sarah Goodrum's body of work that provides an actual indication that she won't be good in the role? Thus far, it seems that the concerns are largely driven on assumptions, not facts, based on her age and lack of playing history, while evidencing that most of us don't even know what the roll really entails.

[brewers888]

Not one of us has even heard of this woman until she was given this title yet some are applauding the hire just on the fact that the job was give to a woman. Fact is she is 27 which means she has very limited experience and that should raise eyebrows regardless of her gender.

[PeaveyFury]

Not one of us has even heard of this woman until she was given this title yet some are applauding the hire just on the fact that the job was give to a woman.

 

Many people are also likely suggesting she only earned the position because she's a woman, so that seems to cut both ways, absent facts.

[ctmyers]

I think the subsequent discussion does suggest I re-phrase this question. If the initial poster was actually asking what about the hire makes Swing and a Drive think it's overdue, that's a very reasonable question to ask.

 

Beyond that, does anyone have any fact-based evidence regarding Sarah Goodrum's body of work that provides an actual indication that she won't be good in the role? Thus far, it seems that the concerns are largely driven on assumptions, not facts, based on her age and lack of playing history, while evidencing that most of us don't even know what the roll really entails.

 

If she was one of the leads in the analytics department, could we point to the team's overall downtrend in hitting performance across the board, from nearly every player? If the Brewers are promoting from within, and the underlying system by which players are getting instructed is flawed, it might be reasonable to draw the conclusion that an outside voice may have been better served in this role.

 

Do you have any fact-based evidence that says she will be good at her job?

[homer]

Not one of us has even heard of this woman until she was given this title yet some are applauding the hire just on the fact that the job was give to a woman. Fact is she is 27 which means she has very limited experience and that should raise eyebrows regardless of her gender.

 

Who held this role before her?

[dlk9s]

Not one of us has even heard of this woman until she was given this title yet some are applauding the hire just on the fact that the job was give to a woman. Fact is she is 27 which means she has very limited experience and that should raise eyebrows regardless of her gender.

 

The problem is that without fail, tons of fans (in general, not specifically talking about BF.net) immediately start questioning whether the person is qualified if she's a woman, but if the person is male, there is either no reaction or it is automatically assumed that the person is qualified. As soon as people cheer that a woman has made inroads in a 99.9% male industry, half the reactions are, "I hope she wasn't hired just because she's as woman."

 

Like yeah, I get that she's young, but young male hires are almost never scrutinized like young female hires. It's usually, "Whoa, look at that whiz kid. Good for him!"

 

I mean, when someone like Sean McVay became the WFT's OC at age 27, nobody batted an eye and when he became the Rams' HC at age 30, it was all "Wow! He's a football genius! He blew them away in the interview!"

[PeaveyFury]

The problem is that without fail, tons of fans (in general, not specifically talking about BF.net) immediately start questioning whether the person is qualified if she's a woman, but if the person is male, there is either no reaction or it is automatically assumed that the person is qualified. As soon as people cheer that a woman has made inroads in a 99.9% male industry, half the reactions are, "I hope she wasn't hired just because she's as woman."

 

Exactly.

 

Do you have any fact-based evidence that says she will be good at her job?

 

Nope. But I haven't made a single comment implying that I think she will or won't be, have I?

[MrTPlush]

I’m just going to treat this as I would if it was male and that is by not caring because I don’t know what the position really even does, I have never heard her name before, and I couldn’t name a single person in the franchises history to hold said position. My first reaction was shock they still have such a position and didn’t cut it to save money last year.

 

Wake me up when the Brewers try to put a competitive team together and actually try to improve. A quick google search and it doesn’t sound like she will hit .300 next year or even take an AB...though with the current teams construction she could probably out hit someone.

Edited February 1, 2021 by MrTPlush

[PeaveyFury]

I’m just going to treat this as I would if it was male and that is by not caring because I don’t know what the position really even does, I have never heard her name before, and I couldn’t name a single person in the franchises history to hold said position.

 

Basically where I'm at as well.... Good for her, I hope she does well in whatever this role entails.

[monty57]

I mean, when someone like Sean McVay became the WFT's OC at age 27, nobody batted an eye and when he became the Rams' HC at age 30, it was all "Wow! He's a football genius! He blew them away in the interview!"

 

How do you remember that? Was it because it's strange when a 27 year old gets a position that is normally held by an older person? If "nobody batted an eye," then it would have went unnoted and you probably wouldn't be referencing the occurrence.

 

I don't know how many times I've heard fans call for the firing of hitting and pitching coaches. They're always scrutinized. Should this be any different because she's female? I personally don't care that she's female, I just noted that she's young and may now be the most important person in the development of Brewer hitters. I hope that at 27 years old she's up to the task. Most people wouldn't be.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Some of the comments make it seem like this is a CEO position. It sounds more like a team leader type spot where you are both involved in the production and making sure that everything is going smoothly with everyone else. Those type of spots are sometimes filled by younger employees. If this was a 38th round pick who spent a couple years as a hitting coach at the affiliate after flaming out in high-A, would the age be raising eyebrows rather than someone from the analytics side who we didn’t know existed?

 

Also, the Brewers pride themselves on their analytics department and have invested a lot of draft/international signing capital in hitters lately. This position is at the nexus of those two things. I can’t see the Brewers not taking the person they felt was best for the job just to get a better press release.

[SeaBass]

Do you have any fact-based evidence that says she will be good at her job?

Other than the fact that a major league baseball club hired her?

 

Whether you agree with the quality of the hire or not, she was hired. There are some pretty smart people running this organization. I'd think that would tip the scales more towards "yes she'll be good" than "no she won't" until proven otherwise.

[ctmyers]

Do you have any fact-based evidence that says she will be good at her job?

Other than the fact that a major league baseball club hired her?

 

Whether you agree with the quality of the hire or not, she was hired. There are some pretty smart people running this organization. I'd think that would tip the scales more towards "yes she'll be good" than "no she won't" until proven otherwise. But who am I to attempt to answer this type of question with logic...

 

That's not logic, that's an appeal to authority. Your justification for the hiring is simply that she was hired. If we're using that "logic", we shouldn't be attaching a shred of analysis to any player trades, contract extensions or moves made on the field.

 

I sincerely hope she and the Brewers do well.

[FVBrewerFan]

Someone mentioned Stearns, and how young he was when he got the GM job. But he's more qualified for that position than bullpen coach. I see this as a similar situation. If Stearns announced some 27 year old woman was his new Assistant GM, makes sense. Same woman given the pitching coach job? Makes no sense.

 

I would need to know specifically what her job duties will be in order to have any reaction.. If she's smart with good communication skills, really doesn't matter if she's young and/or a female. She could do a lot of things. If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

[brewerfan82]

If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

Devil's advocate... but isn't this kind of like saying a male doctor shouldn't have a female patient? Or a human veterinarian shouldn't perform surgery on an animal patient? lol. That's obviously an absurd example, but why couldn't someone without 1st person experience evaluate and instruct what another person is doing with their anatomy that could be improved?

 

The bottom line is no one on here really knows what her qualifications are, so if you think this was possibly just a promotional stunt you probably don't think very highly of the front office. I think it's a pretty smart group, so with that in mind I'll maintain confidence they know what they're doing and congratulate her on her new position!

[jerichoholicninja]

I'll play devil's, devil's advocate (is that a thing?) and say she only got the job because she cost the least. Isn't she just coming off an internship with the club? They could have hired someone with years of experience and a track record of success but they would have had to pay for it. Here's a kid basically right out of college that they can pay peanuts.

 

That's not how I feel, just throwing another conspiracy out there.

[nate82]

This is just corporate speak for we really like you but we don't have a position for you so we are going to create a position for you since we like what you bring to the table. For the intern's that I have worked with the ones that we like who don't really fit into a role we basically create a role for them to occupy until they get enough experience to either move on to another role in the company or move into one of our more defined roles.

 

That is all this is nothing more.

[dlk9s]

I mean, when someone like Sean McVay became the WFT's OC at age 27, nobody batted an eye and when he became the Rams' HC at age 30, it was all "Wow! He's a football genius! He blew them away in the interview!"

 

How do you remember that? Was it because it's strange when a 27 year old gets a position that is normally held by an older person? If "nobody batted an eye," then it would have went unnoted and you probably wouldn't be referencing the occurrence.

 

I didn't remember how old he was. The Packers just played the Rams, so I was reminded by seeing him that he was still a fairly young man. I literally had to go look up how old McVay was and then see what his coaching history was before he was hired by the Rams. Turns out he was the youngest head coach in NFL history. I don't seem to remember people saying, "Man, I hope the Rams didn't hire him to make a splash because he's young and handsome."

 

EDIT: I should add that I assume that McVay's age was notable to fans and the media when he was hired. After all, he was the youngest HC ever (I simply didn't remember that exact fact because I don't tend to follow coaching hires). So yes, that would be a notable thing and probably mentioned in articles and news stories, just like Goodrum being a female hired to this position is a notable thing. But I also bet that's where the discussion ended, unlike with Goodrum and unlike with other female hires like Kim Ng ("I hope she was the most qualified for the job.").

 

I don't know how many times I've heard fans call for the firing of hitting and pitching coaches.

 

And that's the thing. Most hitting and pitching coaches are old ex-players who don't really know much of anything except stuff like, "Your elbow is dropping," or "See, you have a little hitch in your swing."

 

Very few make a lasting impact. Most make little to no difference. Some have great results for a little bit, maybe because of something they did, maybe not. And then their players stop hitting or pitching well and now all of a sudden the coach sucks and the team needs to "go in another direction." New guy comes in, rinse repeat. If the Brewers think Goodrum will be good for whatever job this is, then that's cool with me. She likely won't be any better or worse than anyone else. If she's worse, then she'll be let go like a thousand other coaches that needed a "change of scenery." If she turns out to be fantastic, then wonderful!

[FVBrewerFan]

If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

Devil's advocate... but isn't this kind of like saying a male doctor shouldn't have a female patient? Or a human veterinarian shouldn't perform surgery on an animal patient? lol. That's obviously an absurd example, but why couldn't someone without 1st person experience evaluate and instruct what another person is doing with their anatomy that could be improved?

 

The bottom line is no one on here really knows what her qualifications are, so if you think this was possibly just a promotional stunt you probably don't think very highly of the front office. I think it's a pretty smart group, so with that in mind I'll maintain confidence they know what they're doing and congratulate her on her new position!

 

No, it's not like that. This young woman has no experience hitting a baseball, let aline at a professional level. The anology you're looking for is a college history major teaching a thoracic surgeon a new technique.

[DuWayne Steurer]

If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

Devil's advocate... but isn't this kind of like saying a male doctor shouldn't have a female patient? Or a human veterinarian shouldn't perform surgery on an animal patient? lol. That's obviously an absurd example, but why couldn't someone without 1st person experience evaluate and instruct what another person is doing with their anatomy that could be improved?

 

The bottom line is no one on here really knows what her qualifications are, so if you think this was possibly just a promotional stunt you probably don't think very highly of the front office. I think it's a pretty smart group, so with that in mind I'll maintain confidence they know what they're doing and congratulate her on her new position!

 

No, it's not like that. This young woman has no experience hitting a baseball, let aline at a professional level. The anology you're looking for is a college history major teaching a thoracic surgeon a new technique.

 

 

https://thehittingvault.com/baseball-swing-vs-softball-swing/

 

https://www.buildingromeseries.com/baseball-vs-softball-swing/

 

https://hittingperformancelab.com/fastpitch-softball-hitting-mechanics/

 

Perhaps she has no experience "hitting a baseball", but most coaches will say that an elite softball swing and an elite baseball swing are coached the same and have the same basic body mechanics.

[CheeseheadInQC]

If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

Devil's advocate... but isn't this kind of like saying a male doctor shouldn't have a female patient? Or a human veterinarian shouldn't perform surgery on an animal patient? lol. That's obviously an absurd example, but why couldn't someone without 1st person experience evaluate and instruct what another person is doing with their anatomy that could be improved?

 

The bottom line is no one on here really knows what her qualifications are, so if you think this was possibly just a promotional stunt you probably don't think very highly of the front office. I think it's a pretty smart group, so with that in mind I'll maintain confidence they know what they're doing and congratulate her on her new position!

 

No, it's not like that. This young woman has no experience hitting a baseball, let aline at a professional level. The anology you're looking for is a college history major teaching a thoracic surgeon a new technique.

 

Different sport, but Andy Reid and Mike McCarthy both made their name in coaching through their work with quarterbacks. Their college positions: offensive line and tight end.

 

Also, she has been working in the sports science division for four years, it sounds like with a focus on hitting. I'm pretty sure that the things that you're talking about, swing analysis and the like, she has already been doing, and the Brewers were impressed enough to promote her.

 

The sports science side has become a fast-track for people who are able to both understand the data and show a competence in helping the players translate the findings into mechanical or approach changes that produce results. The Reds have a guy with a only a couple of D-I appearances on his playing resume and who is two years younger than Goodrum on their major league staff after he spent a couple of years at Driveline.

[HiAndTight]

Applaud the Brewer organization for this well deserved move.

 

I mean, cool and all, but how is this “well deserved”?

 

Is there any evidence to point to saying it's not?

 

 

I don't think so...since most people probably haven't heard of her prior to this. But the statement was made that this is well deserved.

 

If he'd have said she DIDN'T deserve the promotion, that'd be one thing...but questioning if she did, that seems pretty normal.

 

There's always a little skepticism when women get hired in men's sports. I understand it. Obviously, there are more qualified and intelligent enough to work in sports than there currently is. But you also have fans wondering if this is a move to get good PR or if they hired the best person for the job.

 

That question won't change until there are enough women in sports that it's not worthy of National Headlines when the Brewers hire a woman to any significant role.

[TURBO]

Hiring a woman for a position like this is not normal, it's different, so of course it will be questioned.

 

Frankly, I don't care one way or the other. If she is qualified for the position, have at it. If she was hired for the position because she is a woman, then that is ridiculous imo. I am not saying that is what happened, so before anyone jumps to conclusions, that is not the case.

 

Maybe I'm not as woke as some, but I'm all for hiring the most qualified person for the position, regardless of gender, skin color, etc... If that person is a woman, great, hire her! If that person is a 45 year old white guy who has earned the job based on his qualifications, and he is the best candidate, he should be hired. I don't want people hired to represent my sports teams based on quotas or equality, I want the best person available, that in the long run, provides us the best opportunity to win.

 

I think it is pretty natural for a hire like this to raise eyebrows because like I said above, it's different.

 

HiAndTight's post above is excellent.

[brewerfan82]

If her role involves evaluating hitting technique, approach, stance, etc. then I don't get it.

Devil's advocate... but isn't this kind of like saying a male doctor shouldn't have a female patient? Or a human veterinarian shouldn't perform surgery on an animal patient? lol. That's obviously an absurd example, but why couldn't someone without 1st person experience evaluate and instruct what another person is doing with their anatomy that could be improved?

 

The bottom line is no one on here really knows what her qualifications are, so if you think this was possibly just a promotional stunt you probably don't think very highly of the front office. I think it's a pretty smart group, so with that in mind I'll maintain confidence they know what they're doing and congratulate her on her new position!

 

No, it's not like that. This young woman has no experience hitting a baseball, let aline at a professional level. The anology you're looking for is a college history major teaching a thoracic surgeon a new technique.

Disagree, this is a college history major teaching someone about history despite the fact she didn't live through the actual history.

[PeaveyFury]

I don't think so...since most people probably haven't heard of her prior to this. But the statement was made that this is well deserved.

 

If he'd have said she DIDN'T deserve the promotion, that'd be one thing...but questioning if she did, that seems pretty normal.

 

Right, which is why I rephrased the question on page two of this thread:

I think the subsequent discussion does suggest I re-phrase this question. If the initial poster was actually asking what about the hire makes Swing and a Drive think it's overdue, that's a very reasonable question to ask.

 

As noted, if it truly was to ask the poster, who hasn't dropped back in, why/what he knows to feel this was deserved because he implied that he may know something about her story that we don't, that's perfectly reasonable to ask. But, if the intention was otherwise, that's more problematic.