Baltimore Baseball: Matt Blood

[weams]

https://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2020/01/09/orioles-minor-league-director-matt-blood-talks-role/

Rich Dubroff

Quote

Matt Blood was named the Orioles’ director of player development in September. Blood came from the Texas Rangers, where he was their director of player development before becoming their director of innovation just before joining the Orioles.

He spent three years as the director of USA Baseball’s 18-and-under national program and seven years as a scout with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was in St. Louis that Blood worked with Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and assistant general manager of analytics Sig Mejdal.

Question: How does your role differ from a traditional farm director?

Answer: “I think that role has changed a little bit over, I don’t know how many years. It’s a combo-type job where you’ve got, for example with us, Kent Qualls, who is director of minor league operations and myself who’s director of development. You can consider us both farm directors.

“They both fit under that same umbrella, but the roles are just a little different where Kent is more handling logistics, budgets, administrative-type stuff, some player movement and whatnot during the season, and I’m more focused on the hiring of coaches and the setting of curriculum, the actual setting up of on-field instruction. He and I work very closely on everything together. We kind of lean on each other for ideas and support. We work very well together on everything.”

Q-This offseason, you’ve hired several hitting coaches for minor league teams that don’t have traditional backgrounds. How did you come to hire coaches without experience in professional baseball?

A-“What was once considered traditional or what was considered the requirements for a hitting coach have changed a little bit over the last, I don’t know how many years. These guys that we hired are exciting guys. They’re highly intelligent. They’re highly practiced in the development of hitters. They have experience using data and technology, but as well, they have experience just working with and connecting with players, so I don’t really see them as non-traditional. I see them as highly capable in terms of their skillset and the experience they’ve gained on their own through the private sector.”

Q-What are some of the things that these new hitting coaches do that are different?

A-“I don’t know different. There’s a wide number of hitting coaches across the industry. They’re all a little different. These guys, they’re intrinsically motivated. They have a good mindset. They are driven to collaborate with the rest of the coaches.

Quote

Q-You first got to know Mike and Sig in St. Louis. When you first knew them, did you ever imagine you’d get to work in top positions together and implement your ideas on a ballclub?

A-“We created a relationship, naturally through being colleagues and co-workers and being of similar age, Mike and myself. Sig and I also happened to live in the same region for a little while and were able to spend some time together. I think we just realized we were on the same wavelength about a lot of things. As time passes, and as you get to know people and how intelligent and talented they are and how exciting their ideas are, then, sometimes you start to think: ‘Man, these guys are going to do really great things, and it would be inspiring to be a part of that with them.’

“Those thoughts probably did go through my mind at some point, but to be here now, it’s been great. Us three working together has really been productive so far.”

 

[canonfaz]

My first thought after clicking on the article... Great hairline on that guy. 

[interloper]

33 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

My first thought after clicking on the article... Great hairline on that guy. 

Lol "photo courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles". 

 

[Tony-OH]

37 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

My first thought after clicking on the article... Great hairline on that guy. 

Haha, that's the limitations of using a wordpress type of CMS. We have the same problem on portrait-style pictures. sometimes it's all you have though.

[Frobby]

I’m very excited to see how our player development system evolves.    We made a lot of changes last year, but in large part Elias & co. were in assessment mode.   Now they are really remaking the system in the way they want.    I expect there to be some mistakes and hiccups along the way, but I like the mindset and culture they are developing across the organization.    I’m hoping for great things.    

[foxfield]

He appears to have a pretty good head for the job.

[Going Underground]

The Orioles hired Kilroy? Peeking over the warehouse.

[Frobby]

Here’s a MASN All Access interview with Matt Blood:   https://mobile.twitter.com/masnOrioles/status/1228439694192439296

[Tx Oriole]

On 1/10/2020 at 9:16 AM, Frobby said:

I’m very excited to see how our player development system evolves.    We made a lot of changes last year, but in large part Elias & co. were in assessment mode.   Now they are really remaking the system in the way they want.    I expect there to be some mistakes and hiccups along the way, but I like the mindset and culture they are developing across the organization.    I’m hoping for great things.    

Me too.

[Redskins Rick]

On 1/10/2020 at 9:51 AM, Tony-OH said:

Haha, that's the limitations of using a wordpress type of CMS. We have the same problem on portrait-style pictures. sometimes it's all you have though.

lol

 

[Just Regular]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-1503-season-preview-series-indians-and-rangers/

There's a couple minutes on Blood's Rangers tenure from the beat writer guest on this team preview episode.  I think the gist of the story related was Daniels deputized him to "get something done", presumably new wave with some old school guys, and that the rubber meeting the road went so badly the org ended up having to move on.  Overall it gave me a Brad Pitt telling Jonah Hill how to release somebody in the Moneyball movie vibe.

[Yossarian]

Is he Tim Allen's neighbor on Home Improvement?