KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Kansas City Royals are moving on from hitting coach Alec Zumwalt, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Zumwalt, who just completed his ninth season with the Royals, is expected to remain in the organization as Kansas City’s senior director of hitting performance.
He joined Kansas City’s Major League coaching staff in May 2022, and oversaw a Royals offense that had varying but inconsistent levels of success.
In 2024, the Royals operated at their highest level under his guidance in large part due to the second-best batting average with runners in scoring position.
Kansas City Royals’ Maikel Garcia (11) gets congratulations from infield coach José Alguacil (68) and hitting coach Alec Zumwalt, right, after scoring a run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 20, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)(Tony Ding | AP)
Those numbers did not translate to 2025, when a struggling Royals offense caused Kansas City to regress to 26th in the league in runs scored.
In 2026, Kansas City was fourth in MLB in total hits, but 22nd in runs scored, again having frequent struggles to capitalize with runners in scoring position.
Before the year, Kansas City rearranged the hitting staff, adding Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames as hitting coaches to work under Zumwalt.
The Royals finished the 2026 season with a 69-93 record, which was worst in the AL Central.
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