Phillies’ Kevin Long happy to be ‘back with my guy’ Trea Turner, reunited with another former pupil

Trea Turner and Kevin Long have a running joke. Long likes to tease the 185-pound shortstop about his lanky build, and the 6-foot-2 Turner likes to tease the 5-8 Phillies hitting coach about his height. They’ve been doing this since they worked together in Washington, where Long served as the Nationals’ hitting coach from 2018-21.

Turner overlapped with Long for 3½ seasons. The hitting coach and his pupil quickly became close. Long taught him to control his movements and to use his lower half, which helped Turner unleash some of his power and become a more consistent hitter.

They created a solid foundation built on trust, but also on levity. Which is why, when Turner was first introduced as a Phillie on Dec. 8 after signing an 11-year, $300 million contract, Long began to laugh.

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“Those red pinstripes look good on him,” he said. “But he’s still really skinny.”

When the Nationals dealt Turner to the Dodgers at the trade deadline in 2021, Long was crestfallen. Turner was one of his favorite hitters to work with. For a player who was so naturally gifted, Turner was diligent. He was always looking for ways to improve, even after winning a World Series ring in 2019 and en route to the NL batting title in 2021.

Luckily for Long, the Phillies — who were in need of a starting shortstop this offseason — had been targeting Turner for months. Knowing that Turner was looking to sign a long-term deal, Long reassured the shortstop that Philadelphia was “a good place to be,” while trying not to apply any undue pressure. Now Turner will be under contract with the Phillies through 2033.

“You come across great players and then they’re gone,” Long said, “and you don’t know if you’ll get a chance to get back with those players. In this case I’m back with three of my guys: Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea. It’s a blessing. It really is.”

That familiarity has helped Long in his work with Schwarber and Harper, and he believes the same will happen with Turner. Long knows Turner’s swing and his mechanics inside and out. There won’t be any major changes that need to be made; Turner is coming off a .298/.343/.466 season with a career-high 100 RBIs. But there is always fine-tuning to be done.

Long can wait until spring training to address that. For now, he’s content with imagining different iterations of the Phillies’ 2023 lineup, and how Turner will add to it. Turner is a consistent hitter — he has batted .302 over eight seasons — which Long believes will help balance out some of the Phillies’ streakier bats.

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“Consistency month in and month out, day in and day out, is what he brings to the table,” Long said. “It’s just really rare that he’s off with his swing, off with his mechanics. He’s not a big chaser. He stays in the zone. A lot of people say speed doesn’t slump, and in his case, his speed definitely helps. If it’s a two-hopper to short, he’s probably safe.

“He’s an elite offensive player. Adding him to any lineup, you’re going to get better. Whatever [manager Rob] Thomson decides to do with him, I’m sure he’ll be at the top of our lineup, and I don’t know that there’s a better table-setter out there or run-producer. He puts together really good at-bats and if he gets on, he creates havoc.”

Long is ready for the havoc to begin. Luckily for the hitting coach, opening day is just 78 days away.

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