Who is Kansas City Royals’ new hitting coach? 5 things to know about Alec Zumwalt
Here are five things to know about new Kansas City Royals hitting coach Alec Zumwalt:
1. His history with the Royals’ Dayton Moore and JJ Picollo goes way back
Zumwalt, 41, played 10 years of minor-league baseball as both an outfielder and relief pitcher. He originally was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with a fourth-round pick in 1999 — a year when both Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and general manager JJ Picollo were front-office members for the Braves.
Following his playing career, Zumwalt was hired as a pro scout by KC in fall of 2011.
2. He was part of a Royals’ shift in hitting operations two years ago
Zumwalt, when he was named KC’s director of hitting performance and player development in 2020, was a major component of the Royals restructuring how they worked with their hitters. Moore and Picollo decided then to create a hitting performance department with people like Zumwalt that could help beyond what players were getting from traditional hitting coaches.
“We knew the challenges that were in front of us, some of the performance issues that we’ve had with our young hitters. In order to move forward, we needed to adapt,” Zumwalt told The Star in February 2020. “More than anything, I think we just needed to change the focus a little bit on how we train, how we’re preparing these hitters. …
“We have great baseball people. I never wanted that to get lost. Dayton didn’t want that to get lost. We have really good hitting coaches. Like I said, we needed to accept some of the challenges that were in front of us.”
3. He’s helped younger Royals hitters
Zumwalt has worked on hitter development with many of KC’s recently emerging minor-leaguers, including catcher MJ Melendez and minor-league first baseman Nick Pratto. Royals manager Mike Matheny referenced Zumwalt and assistant hitting coach Keoni DeRenne while speaking about Melendez’s development during 2020’s spring training.
“I’m really pleased with the adjustments he made this winter, 100% what he needed,” Matheny said. “I think the adjustments started with Alec Zumwalt, (hitting coordinator) Drew Saylor and Keoni coming in here and bringing that group of hitters in here and just kind of getting raw and real about, ‘Hey, this what you’ve got going on and here’s some data that’s supporting what we see. You’ve got a winter to make a difference and change.’”
Zumwalt also has worked closely with Royals rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
4. He played an important part in KC’s 2015 World Series run
Zumwalt was an advanced scout for the Royals in 2014-15, and he ended up playing an important role on one of KC’s most memorable plays on its way to a World Series championship.
As former KC Star beat reporter Andy McCullough relayed on Twitter, Zumwalt was the Royals scout who originally noted early in 2015 that Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista would sometimes fire to second base blindly when a ball was hit to the right-field corner. The Royals took advantage of this in Game 6 of the ALCS, with Lorenzo Cain scoring the eventual game-winning run from first on a single to the corner from Eric Hosmer.
5. He let Mr. Belding wear his Royals championship ring
OK, a little off the wall ... but Zumwalt was the reason actor Dennis Haskins — best known as “Saved By The Bell” principal Mr. Belding — was shown wearing a Royals World Series ring on social media a few years back.
Zumwalt explained to The Star that while he was a Royals scout, he struck up a conversation with Haskins in an airport. Haskins asked if he could take a picture with Zumwalt’s championship ring.
“I am not a selfie guy so I had no problem,” Zumwalt told The Star. “He is a big baseball fan and does appearances at minor league stadiums. … He asked a lot of questions about what I do for the team and is a funny guy.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 1:44 PM.
