PEORIA, Ariz. ---- With three promotions in four seasons, Randy Ready has sped from the bottom half of the Padres' organization all the way to the top level. On July 31, however, Ready received a phone call that he likes to joke was the equivalent of smashing into a brick wall -- was Ready interested in becoming the Padres' hitting coach?

Around baseball, conventional wisdom suggests that the Padres were offering Ready a job that amounts to the organizational kiss of death. Whether it's the difficulty of hitting at Petco Park or working with a small-budget team, Ready was considering a position that chewed up and spit out four other respected coaches in the previous 37 months.

Not only did Ready not hang up the phone, he accepted the Padres' offer. As he happily heads into his first full season as hitting coach, the Padres are hoping they have found a keeper in Ready, someone who can establish long-term consistency at a position known for its constant turnover.

"Short-lived career," Ready said with a laugh. "The coaches talk about it all the time. I was telling those guys, 'Did you bring me up to get rid of me?' "

Considering it's only in its sixth season, Petco Park has already consumed far too many hitting coaches for manager Bud Black's taste.

Dave Magadan's tenure was the longest, lasting from the park's opening in April 2004 until June 2006. Merv Rettenmund was next in charge for 13 months before he was fired in July 2007. Then Wally Joyner took over and lasted until September 2008 when he resigned because he believed he would be fired at season's end. Finally, Jim Lefebvre held the title, arriving in November 2008. He was gone by July 2009.

With a young group striving for consistency, Black doesn't want his players to hear different messages season after season.

"We're trying to stay as consistent as we can with our group, and I think that lends itself to better teaching, a clearer message moving forward," Black said.

Many of the players projected to be on the team's opening-day roster played for Ready ---- then their manager ---- at Single-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Portland. At San Antonio, the group won a Texas League title in 2007. In 2008, Ready was singled out as the organization's Jack Krol Award winner for contributions in player development.

Following the hiring of Ready as batting coach in 2009, the Padres raised their batting average from .232 to .260, increased their runs scored from 3.7 per game to 4.4, and saw an increase in on-base percentage from .309 to .340 during a stretch in which they won 34 of 59 games.

Outfielder Will Venable said the familiarity of working with Ready and the simplicity of his message helps.

"He's not a guy who talks a whole lot about mechanics," said Venable, who played for Ready in the minors from 2006-08. "For him, it's about getting yourself in position and getting ready to hit.

"It was never 'Get your hands here or get your foot down.' It was, 'In batting practice, pick a song and sing it in your head and get a little rhythm. Get that rhythm going and your thoughts off that stuff.'

"He brings a different philosophy."

Ready said he believes in five principles from a mechanical standpoint: rhythm, balance, separation, staying square and weight transfer. Other than that, he doesn't want to get too complicated. He wants his hitters' minds free when they step into the batter's box so they can focus on seeing the ball and executing.

"One thing we emphasize is full view of the baseball," Ready said. "That's our foundation and that's where we work from. To be more specific is to see the ball from the pitcher's hand all the way until the last three feet when the action happens, and with that is usage of the whole field."

Joyner said it's a different type of freedom that will help Ready and the Padres' young hitters have success.

The ex-Padres first baseman didn't think it was Petco Park that hindered the team's offense ---- it was the system the old regime put in place that emphasized being patiently aggressive at the plate.

The philosophy of former Padres CEO Sandy Alderson and scouting and player development director Grady Fuson discouraged players who had poor numbers swinging at the first pitch from doing so. But Joyner argues that it hurt his hitters even more.

"We all had our hands tied because we couldn't do what we needed or wanted to do because of the system and philosophy in place," Joyner said. "That system will never work. You can't predetermine how a game is going to play out. You have to react. The lack of knowledge that was trying to be shoved down these players' throats was incredible.

"I'm happy for the freedom they have. I'm all about patience. But I'm not all about being figured out and having the other team know my game plan. If somebody has figured out my game plan, I'm done. If my guy can't hit and I know it, don't you think the other team knows it? You think they're going to walk him?

"I'm glad the nonsense has been cleaned out."

New Padres owner Jeff Moorad is glad Ready didn't clean out his locker for good this offseason when he was courted by the Houston Astros for their managerial vacancy. Ready was one of 10 finalists for the position and Moorad was decidedly worried the club might lose him.

"I saw Randy the other day in the lobby," Moorad said in January. "I went up, shook his hand and said 'Happy New Year. Thank God you're not in Houston.' I held my breath. I just think that's a really valuable piece for us. He'll be a capable manager one day, but I hope he's here for a while."

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