At first glance — and for many, an indefinite number of looks — this is a real head-scratcher.

The University of Hawaii baseball team went 16-35 in the just-completed season, so a shakeup of the coaching staff was in order.

But the name and job title of the assistant who ends up without a chair when the music stopped is surprising.

It’s Chad Konishi, pitching coach.

Those of us who follow UH baseball generally agree hitting was a bigger problem than pitching for the Rainbows in 2013.

True, a team ERA of 4.50 is not good in today’s college baseball deadball environment, but a team batting average of .239 is more troubling. It’s even worse when you consider UH hit just four home runs all season, with a .298 slugging percentage. The .305 on-base percentage and lousy hitting with runners in scoring position were also major red flags.

Let’s also remember this important point: The starting lineup did not lose three players for the season very early on due to injuries. The pitching staff did.

It’s an easy assumption to say the pitching coach is responsible for those injuries. But expand the sample size to Konishi’s 12 years at UH and you see a much better record of protecting the young arms.

Head coach Mike Trapasso takes pride in the low number of arm surgeries the Rainbows have required over the years and attributes the rash of injuries this year to bad luck.

Trapasso’s area of expertise is pitching, and that is a major key to the decision to release the assistant who has been with him from his start at UH. His plan is to fully assume the pitching coach duties and hire a hitting coach to replace Konishi.

The rationale is you don’t need more than one pitching coach.

But Konishi filled other roles and will be difficult to replace.

His laid-back personality contrasts with the sometimes fiery Trapasso, maintaining a bridge a lot of college players need. Different guys respond to different styles and backgrounds, and Konishi, the Punahou alum who pitched at Cal, seemed to complement Trapasso, who is from St. Louis, Mo., and pitched at Oklahoma State.

Konishi was also an important player in UH’s improved local recruiting efforts. Let’s face it: It’s much easier for someone who grew up in Hawaii and played his youth baseball here to get the attention of kids with the same background than someone who hasn’t.

The hitting coach, Rusty McNamara, still has a job on the UH staff — despite the batting woes as well as Trapasso’s decision to take over the offensive in-game strategy calls during the season. The new hire will be hitting coach, with McNamara serving as his assistant and assuming other duties.

Maybe I’m biased because in the 20 years I’ve known Konishi, I’ve never heard a negative thing said by or about him.

Maybe in reality, Trapasso was the pitching coach. But Konishi was much more than that title to this team.

And it is very unfair — and perhaps unwise — that he is fired because a better hitting coach is needed.

———
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.