Andy Tracy showed his hitting prowess at an early age on the youth baseball fields in Bowling
Green.He continued to display that talent at Bowling Green High School and Bowling Green State University,
and through 16 seasons of professional baseball.Now. Tracy, 39, is getting the opportunity to pass along his
knowledge of hitting to the players in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system.Tracy, who managed the
Phillies’ short-season Class A Williamsport (Pa.) team in 2012, was elevated to minor league hitting
coordinator for the organization in December.”It’s a step up the ladder and there are a lot more
challenges,” Tracy said in a telephone interview last week. ”I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve always
been a hitter at heart.”I really loved managing. But I’m really looking forward to being around the
(batting cage) once again, getting with guys and talking about hitting and finding a way to put them in a
position to be successful.”Tracy was working in the instructional league, which was basically an audition
for the new position, in Florida when he was offered the new job.He said he had a dilemma when the Phillies
first approached him after making the change, but looks at it as a promotion.”It’s a pretty big step, but
(player development director) Joe Jordan was real adamant about his ability to grow in that spot. He pushed
him pretty hard," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said when Tracy was promoted to the
coordinator’s position.”Joe Jordan showed a lot of confidence in me and all I can do is give it my best
effort and see what happens,” Tracy said.Tracy played 149 Major League games over five seasons with
Montreal, Colorado and Philadelphia, hitting .231 with 13 homers and 43 RBI in 277 at-bats. He was with the
Phillies in 2008 when they won the World Series.During his extensive minor league career, he hit .268 with
296 homers and 1,064 RBI.Since being hired as the hitting coordinator, Tracy has been in the Dominican
Republic and Florida over the winter, working with hitters. He’s currently helping with the hitters at the
Phillies’ spring training camp in Clearwater, Fla.Later this month, he’ll move to the minor league complex
to work with upwards of 80 to 85 hitters."You have to organize them, you hit them in their groups, set
up early work," Tracy said. "You try to get everyone even at-bats so we can get a good look at
everybody before decisions are made whether they are going to affiliates or just outright
releases."Once the minor league season starts, Tracy will be on the road, spending five days with each
affiliate working with that team’s hitting coach and also the hitters."I don’t think the travel will
bother me that much,” Tracy said. ”I’m looking forward to working with these kids.”Tracy said having
patience will be a big key to working with young players."You can let them talk to you about things and
not just shove stuff down their throats,” Tracy said. ”The worst thing you can do (as a hitter) is stand
in the (batter’s) box and not be confident. The best thing is you can stand wherever you want and feel like
you can hit, and you can usually find a hit.”One thing Tracy likes about his current job is that he will be
able to be see his family in Columbus for several days every month during the season."That’s something
that I’ve never been able to do, so that’s nice,” Tracy said abut the in-season family time.Tracy
emphasized he’s ready for the new challenge.”When you’re managing, you worry about 30 guys. Now, I have to
worry about 100 guys from Venezuela all the way up to (Class) AAA,” Tracy added. "I have a lot of
people’s careers to worry about. You have to make sure they can get enough work to maximize their
abilities.”I’m still around the game of baseball which I love.”