he didn\u2019t trust manager Rob Thomson or hitting coach Kevin Long<\/a> because neither had played in the majors (each had played professionally and had extensive experience coaching at the highest level).<\/p>\n\u201cThe only opinions that I honestly care about are (from) the ones that have carried the stick,\u201d Castellanos said on Mookie Betts\u2019 podcast last fall.<\/p>\n
In this age of advanced analytics and motion capture technology, non-playing coaches have become fairly common, and when results have followed, they\u2019ve become more accepted and even sought after. The Driveline training facility and the proliferation of its methods are one high-profile example, and the broader embrace of outsiders surely helped pave the way for a manager like Vitello.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best coaches sometimes aren’t the guys that play the longest or even play professionally,\u201d an American League pitcher said. \u201cI think it’s just a knowledge thing and being around different aspects of coaching and playing. Understanding the player side … the coaching side. The analytics side. Even, like, the old-school mentality of it. I think just because you play, you aren\u2019t necessarily a great coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players have long accepted major-league managers whose careers stalled in the minor leagues, but for some, there remains a limit to just how thin a playing r\u00e9sum\u00e9 can be before a manager takes over the big chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cA guy who hasn’t played since high school?\u201d one skeptical player said. \u201cThat would be hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even college baseball \u2014 with its shorter schedule and regular off days \u2014 is no stand-in for the grind of a minor league season, which includes at least twice as many games as an elite NCAA program plays in a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played in college,\u201d one position player said. \u201cThey ran our college like a boot camp. It didn’t make me better at baseball. I’m sure some people get better at baseball, but it’s a completely different game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skeptics did not focus on a non-playing manager\u2019s ability to handle the bright lights of a Major League ballpark or the scrutiny of a playoff series. Instead, their unease was rooted in the lack of shared experience. Since the farm system was introduced in the 1920s, remarkably few players have reached the majors without at least tasting the minors. Most played there for several years before reaching The Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn’t matter necessarily what level, but just to know that, like, ‘I rode the bus,\u2019\u201d one AL West player said. \u201cI think one of the biggest aspects of it is seeing good friends get sent home and have to choose a new life. Early on in your career as a 22-, 23-, 24-year-old, you kind of see somebody’s story close, and that’s the end. Those are things that stay with you, and if you haven’t really seen that or felt that or experienced that, then you don’t necessarily know the same journey that everybody’s kind of rode on.\u201d<\/p>\n
One outfielder referenced the \u201cgame of failure\u201d clich\u00e9, a tried-and-true baseball description that can apply to all levels of baseball \u2014 ask a Little Leaguer who just struck out in a big spot \u2014 but can feel heaviest when a professional career (a family, a livelihood) is on the line and a big-league dream is either within reach or slipping away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing relatable in this game is the only thing that gives you a little bit of comfort,\u201d one player from a Central Division team said. \u201cObviously, you (usually) have a guy that’s played, and it’s different when you can look the guy in the eye when some stuff’s going wrong, and you know that he feels the same way because he’s been there. When you’re playing for a guy that’s never played pro ball at all, they can’t really relate to you when struggles happen. They can say they can relate to you, but it’s not the same. They don’t know what it feels like.”<\/p>\n
But \u201cgame of failure\u201d isn\u2019t the only clich\u00e9 description of baseball. It\u2019s also called a \u201cgame of adjustments,\u201d a reality that, for some players, trumps anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can help me in any way, I don’t care where you came from or what you’ve done,\u201d one pitcher said. \u201cIf you get the boys ready to play, someone who holds everybody accountable and just wants to play a good brand of baseball, I can get behind anybody who wants to do that. I don’t really care about your prior experience. If you can help me, then I’ll be right on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the skeptics can keep an open mind to a manager who can help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have some questions,\u201d one veteran with a championship ring said, \u201cbut I would give it the benefit of the doubt, to be honest. Like, I wouldn’t feel comfortable right away, but I feel like I will be open to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a partial list of things players said they need from a manager beyond experience:<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cA manager is more of a controller and temperature-taker.\u201d
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cI think it’s more about managing egos.\u201d
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cAll a player really asks for is just honesty and communication.\u201d
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cPersonality is the most important thing.\u201d
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cYou do not have to put on the cleats to be an unbelievable teacher and an unbelievable leader.\u201d
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cAt the end of the day, it’s more about their presence as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
And more than one player mentioned the fact that a manager is no longer the sole decision-maker. Clubhouses are filled with coaches and analysts, and decisions rarely come from a single source.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood managers surround themselves with good minds,\u201d one NL pitcher said. \u201cI think you can get so much out of a manager from a mentality perspective, a confidence perspective, a belief perspective, and none of those things come from experience. They don’t have to come from game experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Put it another way: \u201cI don’t think you need to have played to understand how baseball works,\u201d another pitcher said. \u201cIt’s not that complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one thing major-league players can relate to, it\u2019s the need to prove yourself all over again at the highest level. That\u2019s true for every first-year player, coach or manager regardless of r\u00e9sum\u00e9 or background.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone can prove they can either control a clubhouse or make in-game decisions, I don’t really care who it’s from,\u201d one infielder said. \u201cFrom the things I’ve seen from a distance, (Vitello) can command a clubhouse. He can talk to guys. That’s half the battle there. If you’re real, guys will gravitate toward you. If you’re lying, they’ll see right through you pretty quickly.”<\/p>\n
So, would Major League Baseball players feel comfortable playing for a manager who never played professional baseball? The best answer might have come from the one player who didn\u2019t really say yes or no.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends who it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In any other season, this would have been hypothetical. But after the San Francisco Giants hired longtime college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":886837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,5157,85],"class_list":["post-886836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}