SpringfieldNewsSun.com

CINCINNATI — Brook Jacoby hasn't been with the Cincinnati Reds since 2002, but he knows Adam Dunn and he knows Dunn's whiff ratio is enough to stir up a Texas cyclone.

Jacoby, 46, is the Reds' new hitting coach, named Friday to replace fired Chris Chambliss, and Jacoby made it clear one of his projects will be eliminating Dunn's strikeout propensity.

"I dealt with Dunn when he was in the Reds' minor-league system, so I have an idea with him," Jacoby said. "I'd say 194 strikeouts is a big issue. If you put the ball in play, you have more RBIs and more hits. It could be approach; it could be mechanical. We'll sit and talk, and I like to think something can be improved with him."

Jacoby was a hitting instructor in the Reds' system from 2000-02 and has been with the Texas Rangers since, serving last year as minor-league hitting coordinator. For two months early last season, Jacoby was interim hitting coach for the Rangers when noted hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo was out with an illness — and that's what caught the eye of Reds General Manager Wayne Krivsky.

"Rudy Jaramillo and I go back to 1980 when I was with the Rangers, and Brook teaches similar things that Rudy does," Krivsky said. "Brook's reputation is great. I like his demeanor and his calm approach, although even with that calm approach he has a way to get his points across to improve guys."

Jacoby plans to study tape all winter and hopes to lay strong groundwork during spring training. Of his philosophy he says, "First of all, keep it simple. I apply everything to the individual swing. I'm not looking to clone guys, but there are some things that all good hitters do.

"I have to learn the guys and I have to win them over," he said. "And sometimes you have to be a psychiatrist."

Manager Jerry Narron was impressed during Jacoby's interview, "Because he was prepared. He knew our shortcomings, our inabilities as situational hitters and hitting with runners in scoring position."

While the Reds hit 217 home runs, second most in the National League, their batting average was only .257, next to last, and they struck out 1,192 times.

Jacoby played 11 years in the majors, mostly as a Cleveland third baseman, and hit .270 with 120 home runs and 545 RBIs in 4,520 at-bats.

A scouting report on Jacoby from a book, The Ballplayers, said, "He hit .300 in 1987 (the year of the rabbit ball) when he cut down on his strikeouts, but managed just 69 RBIs, and 27 of his 32 homers came with nobody on base, and he hit just .225 with runners in scoring position."

As with most good batting instructors, many of whom never hit well in the majors, it is, "Do as I say, not as I did."

Contact this reporter by e-mail at

hmccoy@DaytonDailyNews.com

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