Orioles promote 1 Coach, hire second

[Philip]

I’m sorry, folks, but experience is literally nothing. It’s tidbits, it’s “tips” it’s where the best bathrooms are in the hotel, and which gals in the bar are cleanest. Coaching is a whole ‘nother ball of wax, And has been pointed out multiple times, playing well and coaching well are two different skill sets. One is doing, the other is sharing effectively.
It is entirely possible to know how to do a thing at a high-level, without being actually able to do it at a high-level, and it is equally possible, it is even usual, to be able to do a thing at a high-level without being able to explain it.

So all this claptrap about “coaches with experience” does nothing but reflect badly on the pseudo-journalist who makes the claim.

Meanwhile, it would be much more productive to talk about free agents we can dream about signing, and our mighty new collection of rule five guys… Can’t wait!

[LookinUp]

I wonder what the equivalent would be in baseball.

Pitching Coordinator, Analytics Assistant, Mechanics Assistant, Pitch Development Specialist, Advanced Scouting Assistant

Hitting Coordinator, Analytics Assistant, Mechanics Assistant, Pitch Selection Coordinator, Advanced Scouting Assistant

[Sports Guy]

Well People also said you can’t build a baseball team through analytics and now everyone is doing it.  

[Frobby]

51 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Well People also said you can’t build a baseball team through analytics and now everyone is doing it.  

I think there will always be some value to having some coaches around who have played the game at a high level, IF they also are flexible enough to adapt to new ways of thinking.   But I have no problem with having coaches who never played at a high level, so long as they’ve shown that their coaching gets results.   

[Sports Guy]

 

[Frobby]

Here’s the Meoli article on Fuller:  https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-ryan-fuller-hitting-coach-20211229-eu3pmdutojb27hwa7qzd4ltg2a-story.html

It’s very interesting and exciting.   I’m really looking forward to seeing whether our major league hitters improve under Fuller’s tutelage.

Meoli also wrote an article the day before on co-coach Matt Borgschulte.   I’ve maxed out on free articles and can’t post that link.

Meoli really went out with a bang, though.

 

[Just Regular]

If my main takeaway from the Fuller one was "he's the game-ifier", the Borgschulte one was occlusion training.  It described the technique of showing batters video of incoming pitches that would click off when the pitch was 10-20 feet along, at the spot where the batter would with that info alone have to discern what he could.    Both guys kind of have a bit of that Kurt Warner stocking supermarket shelves bio.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-matt-borgschulte-20211228-2qsfrjfujjbaxl5u5jsou3u7om-story.html

Not sure if the html gobbledy-gook here knows my device got to its limit, but if link no good, "Meoli Borgschulte" doesn't have many other results in the universe....yet.

The story had a bit on the Sig finding Borgschulte process...where Sig knew of the "Tom House" sport scientist type guy who was one of the academic occlusion training leaders, and asked him for a list of qualified coaches for teaching the technique.

[Frobby]

Meoli has a piece today on what the hitting coaches are doing now since they can’t speak with or visit the players:

Instead, the two hitting coaches are carving out time each morning for video calls and tackling one player a day to go over their focus and approach for when the lockout ends and baseball resumes.

“We go through their past few years,” Fuller said. “Here’s what we’re doing really well, here’s some areas they can improve. What can the plan be? Go. He gives his thoughts, and usually they’re very close with what I have, and we go back and forth. You with me on that? Or, teach me a little bit more on what you’re talking about.

“It’s this process of not only going over our hitters or opposing pitchers and game-planning for them, but just learning each other's processes. You have this incredibly smart guy who has gone through virtually every level in the minor leagues, and learning from him every day so the little nuances of, ‘Man, you look for that video? I’ve never thought about that.’ Or, breaking down the data in different ways and connecting it to different metrics, it’s been huge for my developments as a coach. We’ve really enjoyed those morning calls.” 
https://jonmeoli.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile

[SteveA]

16 hours ago, Frobby said:

Meoli has a piece today on what the hitting coaches are doing now since they can’t speak with or visit the players:

Instead, the two hitting coaches are carving out time each morning for video calls and tackling one player a day to go over their focus and approach for when the lockout ends and baseball resumes.

“We go through their past few years,” Fuller said. “Here’s what we’re doing really well, here’s some areas they can improve. What can the plan be? Go. He gives his thoughts, and usually they’re very close with what I have, and we go back and forth. You with me on that? Or, teach me a little bit more on what you’re talking about.

“It’s this process of not only going over our hitters or opposing pitchers and game-planning for them, but just learning each other's processes. You have this incredibly smart guy who has gone through virtually every level in the minor leagues, and learning from him every day so the little nuances of, ‘Man, you look for that video? I’ve never thought about that.’ Or, breaking down the data in different ways and connecting it to different metrics, it’s been huge for my developments as a coach. We’ve really enjoyed those morning calls.” 
https://jonmeoli.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile

That article was in today's Sun with Meoli's byline.  So maybe he is still contributing to the Sun?

[Frobby]

Steve Melewski has an interview with Ryan Fuller up today.   I’m really excited about how he and Borgschulte are meshing and how the training methods and messages are being communicated throughout the system.   

I’m particularly interested in seeing how Hays, Mountcastle and Santander do under the new coaches.   There’s three guys who can make loud contact but need to continue making better swing decisions.   I’ll see the three of them as something as a yardstick for the performance of the Fuller/Borgschulte duo.

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2022/01/a-look-at-os-co-hitting-coach-approach-with-ryan-fuller.html

[Frobby]

Here’s another interesting piece from Melewski on the methodologies of the hitting coaches.  https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2022/01/os-will-take-bp-program-from-the-minors-to-the-majors.html

[justD]

10 hours ago, Frobby said:

Here’s another interesting piece from Melewski on the methodologies of the hitting coaches.  https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2022/01/os-will-take-bp-program-from-the-minors-to-the-majors.html

Oops. Missed this before posting my topic. Just thought it deserved more attention? Or didn’t realize there was a thread where it belonged…

[Frobby]

Roch has a piece on Fuller today, while Steve Melewski has a piece on Borgschulte.

https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2022/02/fuller-on-improved-minor-league-talent-and-working-with-borgschulte.html

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2022/02/new-os-coach-matt-borgschulte-on-joining-the-orioles.html

Seems like MASN is spilling a lot of ink on these two guys recently.   I mean, what else do they have to write about?

I like the vibe with these two guys, but in the end, the proof will be in the results.   It’s a shame that they probably won’t get a full spring training to indoctrinate the players and can’t talk to them now.