Ex-pitching coaches shine as managers
The Rockies have led the National League West for most of the season.
The Reds have been in and out of first place in the NL Central.
Nobody was silly enough in spring training to suggest both statements would hold up in mid-May. The Giants certainly can vouch for both teams. Their combined record against them is 3-10.
There’s a local link to both stories, and it’s the managers, Bud Black and Bryan Price, one an ex-Giant and one a San Francisco native, both of whom are getting drastic improvements from their bullpens.
Both were former pitching coaches, an extremely rare path to the manager’s seat. While it’s a common gig for ex-catchers — Bruce Bochy, Bob Melvin, Mike Scioscia, Joe Girardi, etc. — the only other former pitcher/pitching coach managing is Boston’s John Farrell.
“It makes sense in a lot of ways,” Black said, “because you look at the makeup of the roster, we have 13 pitchers, we have more pitchers than position players.”
Black, who pitched for the Giants from 1991 to 1994, is the first former pitcher to manage the Rockies, who are 23-15. He managed nine seasons in San Diego after seven years as the Angels’ pitching coach.
Price, a pitching coach for 10 years with the Mariners, Diamondbacks and Reds, is in his fourth season as Reds manager. He pitched eight years in the minors after playing at Mill Valley’s Tamalpais High School and Cal.
“Like a former position player would need to understand how to connect with what it’s like to be a pitcher and how to relate to pitchers,” Price said, “the thing I had to plug into immediately was how to relate to the everyday player and the bench player.
“I had to understand how players are affected by a change in their spot in the lineup, when you give them a day off, how much you play a bench player, communicating with a bench player so he can prepare for pinch-hit opportunities or double switches.”
While Black is “not going to talk to DJ LeMahieu about hitting mechanics or his hands or stride,” he and Price are much more aware of a pitcher’s mechanics and strategies than most managers.
That has come in handy for both as the improvement of their bullpens plays a major part in their teams’ turnarounds, each ranking among the league’s top four in bullpen WHIP.
The 2016 Rockies had the majors’ worst bullpen ERA at 5.13, and the Reds ranked one slot better at 5.09.
This year? The Reds entered Saturday ranked eighth at 3.04, the Rockies 13th at 4.06. The Rockies’ relievers were especially dominant in the first 11 games, posting a 2.20 ERA.
Ranking anywhere in the upper half for a team that plays a mile high in Denver is significant, and the Rockies are benefiting from taking a chance on Greg Holland, who had Tommy John surgery in 2015 and is 15-for-15 in save opportunities.
The Rockies also signed lefty Mike Dunn and heavily rely on Adam Ottavino and lefty Jake McGee, both with sub-3.00 ERAs. Like Holland and Dunn, they have more strikeouts than innings pitched.
Like the Rockies’ bullpen, the Reds’ bullpen can survive over six months only if the starters can pitch deep into games, preventing reliever overload. The Reds’ bullpen leads the majors in innings pitched and, in an example of Price’s unconventionality, multiple-inning saves.
The question is whether it can be sustained. So far so good. Raisel Iglesias (0.93 ERA) earned his seventh save in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Giants, and setup man Wandy Peralta has a 1.13 ERA and 0.63 WHIP.
Drew Storen (Stanford guy working for a Cal guy), Michael Lorenzen and Blake Wood are other key Reds relievers.
This is a good time for Black and Price, who are showing the value of former pitching coaches running the show. In 2013, Farrell was the first former pitching coach to manage a World Series since Roger Craig of the 1989 Giants.
Why aren’t there more examples?
“I think every pitching coach has such an important job, a lot of guys get pigeonholed,” said Black, adding that several current pitching coaches including the Giants’ Dave Righetti would make good managers.
Around the majors: A beautiful statue of Tony Gwynn was unveiled Tuesday on what would have been his 57th birthday. It was dedicated in Poway (San Diego County), where he raised his family, and depicts the great Gwynn smiling, lifting his cap and holding his young daughter. Bochy, also of Poway, saw a picture of the ceremony and was touched. … Congrats to local guy Joe Biagini, who earned his first career win as a Toronto starter Friday (he won four games in relief last season). Biagini was born in Redwood City and drafted out of UC Davis by the Giants (26th round, 2011), then snagged by Toronto in the 2015 Rule 5 draft. … Nice touch by Josh Reddick, who hit his 100th career home run off former A’s teammate Bartolo Colon. Reddick hit 10 homers with the Red Sox, 84 with the A’s, two with the Dodgers and now four with the Astros. … The A’s will select sixth in the June 12 draft, the Giants 19th. If they draft by need, rarely the case in these things, the A’s would get a starting pitcher, the Giants an outfielder. … Nerd Power is back. After missing last season with injuries, ex-A’s infielder Eric Sogard was called up by the Brewers and homered against the Mets’ Matt Harvey. Sogard, who took the roster spot of injured Ryan Braun, looked good in glasses and Brewer pinstripes.