In 2018, Hunter Mense was new to the Jays organization, a hitting guru with a background in college and one season of low-level experience in the San Diego Padres organization.
And then — his first assignment with the Jays — he entered an eye-opening world of sublime bat-to-ball talent.
“The thing that I remember the most is that it's very rare that teams and players live up to the expectations that are put forth from the outside, but it was unbelievable watching it throughout the whole year,” said Mense, now a Jays assistant hitting coach working under offensive co-ordinator Don Mattingly. “One of the most amazing things was how far ahead we were from every other team offensively — OPS, average, runs scored, every way you can measure it.
“It felt like, throughout the season, it never stopped.”
Indeed, by the end of that first year, the hitting coach was left in awe with what he had worked with over the preceding months. And, essentially, he saw firsthand the future of almost a third of the Jays' current offence.
“I had never seen somebody control the strike zone like Cavan. I had never seen anyone with the quickness and bat speed that Bo had, of being able to hit a ball 110 to the back side. And I had never seen somebody generate the batted-ball trajectory and exit velocities of what Vladdy was able to do. I was amazed every day.”
As the season went on, Mense became well aware of the weight of expectations associated with the group. But working under the steady rudder of Schneider, he became a trusted mentor to many of the players, a working relationship that continues today.
There was the weight of responsibility, which added to the satisfaction when it won an Eastern League title.
“During the season, you kind of lose sense of how fun winning is because, in the minor leagues, you're so caught up in trying to get better, trying to get to the big leagues. I remember at the end of the year the weight being lifted, not just off the players because of expectations, but off of us as a staff, too. It was a grind every single day.”