Rojas feels like getting a bit analytical
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luis Rojas experienced first-hand what the creation of a quality control coach meant to the Mets. It was crucial to communicate analytical information to a staff that was late to the party, and now he looks forward to bringing that knowledge into his daily managerial routine.
“I grew up a lot last year, especially developing the new role,” he said on Thursday. “So as the season went along, it kind of took more shape and we developed new in-house systems that will simplify more of our information.”
Rojas — now Mets manager — was the first-ever quality control coach in team history. He served as a bridge between the analytics department, the coaching staff and the players to help the team understand and digest the number-heavy information that was being spewed out every day.
Members of the Mets staff commended Rojas for his ability to make that information usable to them last year. Rojas would decipher the intensive data into a language the coaches would understand and soon, he helped develop a functioning ecosystem within the organization.
“So learning how to use those, it really helps at this point,” Rojas said. “I know that information is going to flow really easily between us — among the staff and also to the players.”
A good chunk of that information traveled from Adam Guttridge, the assistant GM of systematic development, to the desk of Rojas. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen hired Guttridge before the 2019 season and he quickly became a key player in the front-office.
Guttridge co-founded NEIFI, a sports data analysis company, in 2015 and worked as an independent consultant for multiple Major League Baseball teams. He was the manager of baseball research and development for the Brewers and consulted for the Rockies, among other endeavors.
Players are open to absorbing the new information available to them.
Mets catcher Wilson Ramos, a 10year big-league veteran, understands how prominent analytics are in the game now. He urged younger athletes to begin getting familiar with technology early in their professional careers. Ramos said he treats the analytical part of the game like homework.
“It’s a different game of baseball we’ve been playing now,” Ramos said. “That’s what I talk about with my friends, with my family. I’ve been talking with a lot of kids, for a longtime now, baseball is not the same as before. There’s a lot of things we have to use for our benefit.” Brian Schneider, who was previously tabbed as manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, will takeover for Rojas as the team’s new quality control coach. Schneider, a former catcher who played for the Mets in 2008-09, most recently worked for the Marlins as their catching coach.