Joe Dillon

Joseph William Dillon (born August 2, 1975) is an American former professional baseball utility player and coach who was most recently the assistant hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants. He was an assistant hitting coach for the Washington Nationals from 2018 to 2019, before serving as the hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. After graduating from Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, California in 1993, Dillon entered college at Santa Rosa Junior College and then Texas Tech University. His college baseball career with the Texas Tech Red Raiders included a 33 home run season in 1997, a record which still stands today. On June 3, 1997, Dillon was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 7th round (211th overall) of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft. He played the 1997 season with the Low-A Spokane Indians, the 1998 season with the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, and the 1999 season with the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. Dillon split the 2000 season between the Double-A Wichita Wranglers and the Triple-A Omaha Royals. During his time with Omaha, he suffered a herniated disc in his back. He returned to Omaha for the 2001 season.