The New York Mets will not be reuniting with Kevin Long. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the veteran hitting coach met with the club last week about a role in its hitting department, but there was no match, and the 59-year-old is no longer under consideration.
Long’s candidacy always carried an awkward structural question. The Mets kept hitting coach Troy Snitker and assistant Rafael Fernandez after parting with director of major league hitting Jeff Albert, leaving no obvious chair for a coach who has run a big league hitting group in each of the last 20 seasons.
Long coached the Mets from 2015 to 2017, including the 2015 pennant run, and spent the past five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies before they moved on from him with two years left on his contract. Fans reacted online following the news that Kevin Long and the Mets failed to reach an agreement.
