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The Kansas City Royals have hired Jack Maloof as their new hitting coach, and will also bring Andre David aboard in an assistant role, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Maloof and David, who were both promoted from the Royals minor league system, will take over for Kevin Seitzer, who was let go on Oct. 4 after holding the position for four seasons. Maloof served as the hitting coach for the Florida Marlins from 1999 to 2001, and has held positions in the Braves and Royals organizations since then. David has been in the Royals organization for 14 years, and was the major league hitting coach from May 2005 to May 2006.
With Seitzer as their hitting coach, the Royals finished the 2012 season tied for last in the American League in home runs with 131 and 12th in runs scored with 676, but their .265 batting average was behind only four other AL teams.