Padres fire hitting coach Plantier

Oct 22, 2014 - 6:09 PM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Diego Padres have relieved Phil Plantier of his hitting coach duties.

The Padres ranked last in the majors in several offensive categories in 2014, finishing 30th in runs (535), hits (1,199), runs batted in (500), batting average (.226), on-base percentage (.292) and slugging percentage (.342).

The Padres were shut out 19 times, were no-hit by San Francisco's Tim Lincecum in June and finished that month with a .171 batting average -- the lowest single-month mark by a team in the modern era.

Plantier served as the Padres hitting coach for the past three seasons.

The Padres also announced Wednesday that bench coach Dave Roberts, pitching coach Darren Balsley, third base coach Glenn Hoffman, first base coach Jose Valentin, bullpen coach Willie Blair and assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell will all be returning for the 2015 season.

In addition, Powell will be among several candidates to interview for the hitting coach position.