Nationals hire well-regarded hitting coach Kevin Long

Dave Martinez's inaugural staff with the Nationals will include at least one experienced, well-regarded coach.

Kevin Long, who has a long list of supporters after a decade with the Yankees and Mets, has been hired as the Nationals' new hitting coach, the club announced this evening.

Long, 50, becomes the first member of Martinez's staff, bringing instant credibility and experience to the first-time manager's coaching roster, with other key positions expected to be filled over the next week or so.

A former outfielder in the Royals' minor league system, Long has made his biggest mark in baseball as one of the sport's most-respected hitting coaches. After a decade in the minors, he became Yankees hitting coach in 2007, during which time he worked with stars Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano and others, helping lead that core group to a World Series title in 2009.

Long moved from the Bronx to Queens in 2015 and immediately helped transform the Mets lineup into one of the majors' most potent units that ended with a National League pennant. Among his most ardent supporters is Nats second baseman Daniel Murphy, who flourished under Long's tutelage and added power to his already strong hitting approach, developing into an MVP candidate.

A proponent of the increased launch angle approach that has swept over baseball in the last few years, Long was a candidate for both the Mets and Nationals' managerial openings last month but wasn't selected for either job. The Nats offered him a chance to join Martinez's staff, though, and Long (whose son, Jaron Long, is a pitcher at Triple-A Syracuse) accepted the offer.

Long replaces Rick Schu, who has been part of the Nationals organization since 2009, taking over as major league hitting coach in July 2013. It's unclear whether Schu, who has longstanding ties to general manager Mike Rizzo, will remain in the organization in another capacity.