Red Sox Assistant Hitting Coach Dillon Lawson Discusses Swing Decisions

Good swing decisions are vital to a hitter’s success. Having a finely tuned stroke is important — swing mechanics are diligently honed for a reason — but the ability to consistently attack the right pitches is every bit as valuable. Avoiding chasing while keying in on offerings you can drive greatly enhances your chances of squaring up a baseball.

Dillon Lawson, the new assistant hitting coach of the Boston Red Sox, is a huge proponent of a disciplined approach. The Louisville, Kentucky native views the optimization of swing decisions as an integral part of his job — one that now includes working alongside co-assistant hitting coach Ben Rosenthal and lead hitting coach Peter Fatse.

Prior to joining the Red Sox organization last year as its minor league hitting coordinator, the 39-year-old Lawson spent parts of five seasons with the New York Yankees, first as their minor league hitting coordinator from 2019-2021 and then as their major league hitting coach from 2022 until July 2023. He also tutored minor leaguer hitters for two seasons in the Houston Astros organization, in 2016 and 2018.

Lawson sat down to talk hitting at Fenway Park last weekend.

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David Laurila: There are swing coaches and there are more traditional hitting coaches. Where do you fit into that dynamic?

Dillon Lawson: “Whether it’s what I feel is right, or it’s just a sense of pride, I think we’re all trying to be the best hitting coaches we could possibly be. That means you’re able to help players in whatever way they need to be helped. Sometimes that’s with an approach. Sometimes it’s with confidence. Sometimes it’s a swing change, whether that’s with the load or the path. Some people need more power. Other people need more contact.

“In the minor leagues, with the whole department… let’s say you’ve got 10 hitting coaches all pushing the same direction, trying to help a large group of hitters. Then, here with Boston — same with the Yankees — a group of three [at the big league level] is nice, because the better the player is, the more difficult it is to get them just a half a percent better. Sometimes you have to get creative. Sometimes you have to dig deep into your toolkit. When you have the group all working together, working well together, you can help players more quickly.”

Laurila: Is the swing overemphasized in today’s game?

Lawson: “Yes. My background is more in swing decisions. I didn’t play professional baseball, and my niche became pitch recognition and plate discipline. I definitely think the swing is overemphasized, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be a massive focus.”

Laurila: Do you feel that overemphasis is due to hitting trying to catch up with pitching from an analytical standpoint?

Lawson: “Like people say, ‘Whatever you can measure.’ We can measure the swing — most, if not all of it — and because we can measure it, we can track it. We can see if it is changing. What we can’t measure… actually, we can, but we’re not allowed to put eye-tracking glasses on players in-game. You don’t know what’s actually happening in the brain when it comes to decision-making. That said, we are making improvements with swing decisions. You can track it with chase rate, and you can see things happening in the cage before you actually see the output.”

Laurila: To what extent are swing decisions trainable, as opposed to an innate skill?

Lawson: “Honestly, a lot of players that get into pro ball… their pitch recognition is good enough to have gotten them here. But if they are going to evolve, or make a change out of necessity, they’re probably going to have to do it in a slightly different way. And yes, you can improve your pitch recognition abilities. But the longer you’re playing — this is my opinion — the more difficult it is to make those adjustments, and make it better.

“I come from a background of coaching in college [at the University of Missouri-Columbia], and I know that you can improve pitch recognition at that level. Through the minors, we’ve had success in my experience with Astros and the Yankees, and now the Red Sox, in improving players’ ability to recognize pitches, to swing at the right ones, and to take the [wrong] ones. It is difficult. Part of that is because it’s so ingrained. It’s a habit. It takes time to really adjust.”

Laurila: Can you give examples of players you’ve seen take meaningful strides?

Lawson: “First, improved swing decisions typically follow improved habits in one or more of these areas: game-planning, pitch recognition, tracking, and strike zone awareness. A proper training environment is really important in developing these new habits.

“In my time as Yankees hitting coordinator, the org saw some of the largest improvements in swing decisions. Specifically, Jasson Domínguez, Agustin Ramirez, and Carlos Narvaez improved. Then, last year, the Red Sox ranked third [in the minor leagues] in improved hard hit and contact rates, and first in reduced chase rate. Top prospects Marcelo Mayer and Franklin Arias improved their swing decisions as much as anyone.”

Laurila: With Mayer, was toning down his aggressiveness part of the equation?

Lawson: “Well, you can’t just… you can tone down your aggressiveness, sure. That means you’re not going to swing as often, which will help reduce chase out of zone. But he was still able to swing at the pitches he should be swinging at, at a high clip, while also reducing his chase. That’s a good sign of skill development beyond just an approach change.”

Laurila: Do you consider it a chase if a hitter in an advantage count swings at a pitch that, while in the strike zone, isn’t something he can drive?

Lawson: “For the sake of defining chase, no. I would define chase as swinging out of the zone. But there is nuance, because what the numbers say you should swing at changes by count, by runner state, by the pitcher and his arsenal, what time through the order we’re in. Again, there is nuance to it.”

Laurila: Any final thoughts on hitting?

Lawson: “Your initial question was, ‘Should we be paying attention to something besides swings?’ I don’t know if you worded it exactly like that, but that’s a lot of what this conversation has been about. And the answer is yes. Again, whether that’s training someone to develop a skill — maybe that’s power, maybe that’s pitch recognition, maybe it’s training in a way where you’re building confidence. Or maybe you’re training in a way where it’s pure game prep, it’s me versus him. It can be more than one thing.

“I like going down those rabbit holes. I nerd out on pitch recognition, the game’s behavior, high-speed decision-making. That will always be like the lens I view things through, the pitch recognition and how decision-making affects the swing. Because it definitely does. The earlier you make a decision, the more power you are able to develop or transfer. It also makes you less likely to chase. Ideally, you’re making early, accurate decisions. That’s a no-brainer. Everyone would agree with that, but how do you help somebody improve it?”

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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis