Pitching coach easing into role
HOUSTON — Taking over a coaching position in the middle of the season can be a tricky proposition, especially following a longtime coach who had great relationships with players.
Scott Emerson, the A’s new pitching coach, is well aware of the potential pitfalls. After all, he himself is a big fan of his predecessor, Curt Young, who was fired June 15.
“It was kind of tough the way I got the job. I feel so close to Curt, he’s a mentor of mine,” Emerson said. “He did amazing things for this organization, so it’s bittersweet. He did nothing but support me.”
Emerson, 45, is well known to Oakland’s pitchers, especially the relievers, having served as the bullpen
coach the past 2½ seasons. Still, he’s going to ease his way in.
“You can’t just come in with totally new ideas,” he said. “The organization, since I’ve been here, we’ve always had consistent pitching philosophies. … You take what the organization’s expectations are and you formulate your game plan, you bottle it up and then you create your own theories, your own style.
“You have to have a soft-sell approach. You can’t be too aggressive. But I am a stickler for the little things like backing up bases, and if they don’t like it, well, it’s just part of my job. The communication between me, Garvin (Alston, the new bullpen coach) and the pitchers is what’s paramount. At the end of the day, they don’t work for me, I don’t work for them, we work together.”
Reliever Sean Doolittle said there’s no question that Emerson’s and Young’s styles are different. “Emo’s a little more outgoing and willing to teach and willing to say what he sees and offer suggestions,” Doolittle said. “He’s more proactive. Curt is super smart and more reserved. He knew a lot of guys have their own routines and approach to pitching, but Emo will pull someone aside and start showing them video.
“He’s going to work really well with this young group because sometimes when you’re young, you don’t even know what questions to ask if things aren’t going your way. Curt was just a little more old school — if you’re here, you know what you’re doing and if you have any questions, come to me.”
Emerson is from the Phoenix area, a 6-foot-5 all-state baseball and basketball player at Shadow Mountain High School who was drafted by the Orioles in 1991. The left-hander never advanced past the Double-A level, though, and he often downplays his career when talking to A’s pitchers.
“He swears his best pitch was his pickoff move,” Doolittle said with a laugh.
After six years in the minors and a stint in independent ball, Emerson turned to coaching. He spent three seasons in the Pirates’ organization before joining the A’s, but he already had been working toward his new job.
“In 1993, I was sitting in the dugout in Albany, Ga., and I was watching infield and our hitting coordinator, Wally Moon, was like, ‘What are you doing? Pitchers don’t watch infield.’ And I said, ‘Well, these guys are pretty good, and if I can’t get there as a player, I’m going to try to get there as a coach,’ ” Emerson said. “That’s when I knew, ‘Dang, I’ve got to absorb all the information I can.’ I do believe all the little things matter — you take 10 little things and wad them up, now all of a sudden you’ve got one big thing.”
White Sox assistant hitting coach Greg Sparks, who was a longtime A’s minor-league coach, also attended Shadow Mountain High School and has known Emerson since he was 12.
“He’s a baseball rat, very passionate about what he does, one of the most prepared coaches I’ve ever been around,” Sparks said. “Emo was preparing for this position for a long time. He always handled all of his guys just like a big-league pitching coach. He has a blast, but he cares about the pitchers, it’s not about him. He’s very unselfish.”
Emerson loves coaching so much, he volunteers with a program that helps teach the sport to kids in the Czech Republic and, more recently, in Spain. In five of the past six years, he’s gone to Europe with Purpose Driven Baseball to work with young pitchers. Several other coaches from the program now head up the Czech national team.
“Just to see smiles on people’s faces when you keep coming back and they know you care about them,” said Emerson, who still follows some of the kids he’s coached on YouTube clips. “It’s really hard not to go back every year because they get so excited.”
Around the A’s clubhouse, the tall redhead is known for his wide smile and corny jokes.
“He’s just a big old goofyheaded guy with dad jokes and weird awkward stuff that sometimes you don’t know whether to laugh or say, ‘What are you talking about?’ ” bullpen catcher Phil Pohl said. “He’s a jokester, but he’s also one of the first guys here and one of the last to leave. He’s great with the scouting report. He has a sharp eye to help players’ development. He keeps it light and funny, but you know he’s working his tail off to help everyone get better.”