Reds’ Stephenson found new coach on Instagram
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson was supposed to have the afternoon off Monday. Instead, he was at the team complex working on catching drills with coaching intern Joe Singley.
Stephenson met Singley only seven months ago, but they’ve been going through catching drills together almost every day since the regular season ended. By now, Stephenson knows the routine.
He practices sliding his catching mitt up through the strike zone to “intercept” breaking balls. He catches hacky-sacks with his bare hand to improve his glove positioning. He practices receiving the ball with resistance bands attached to his wrists.
These drills are a big reason the Reds see Stephenson taking a significant step forward as a defensive catcher this season.
Singley, 24, always saw coaching at the Major League level as a long-term goal. He grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and started his college baseball career as a catcher at Tulane. After he fractured his collarbone and Tulane went through a coaching change, Singley transferred to Indian River State College.
Following two more shoulder surgeries, Singley transferred to Coastal Carolina. In his first year there, Joe’s father got a rare form of kidney cancer. Joe took the semester off, stepped away from baseball, and he spent every night awake taking care of his dad.
For three months, Singley put his baseball career on hold to focus on his father, who had played in the minor leagues and helped his son get into the sport.
“He could die at any second,” Singley said. “So from August to October 23, when he died, he was in a hospital bed in our living room. I had to feed him, work the oxygen tank and the whole nine yards.”
In the process, Singley started the “Singley Strong” foundation. The organization provides resources directly to families that have been impacted by cancer. Most of the Reds players now wear Singley Strong shirts around the team’s spring training facility.
When Singley returned to Coastal Carolina, he struggled to sleep. He failed every class and became ineligible for sports. His playing career was over.
Singley’s coach, Kevin Schnall, saw Singley’s dedication to catching and his potential as a teacher. So Schnall encouraged Singley to post videos of catching drills on social media.
For months, Singley did so. Eventually, Stephenson saw a post and sent a direct message to Singley on Instagram.
Stephenson explained he was looking for a catching coach to work with during the offseason. Singley paid his own way to talk with Stephenson about the opportunity and then spent the next two months planning a program.
“I went back and broke down all of the fastballs he caught from right-handed pitchers in a one-knee down stance and every fastball he caught from a squatted stance,” Singley said. “Then the same with lefties. Then I broke down runners on base and no runners.”
Singley moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he slept on a friend’s couch, and worked with Stephenson throughout the offseason.
His instruction proved to be so valuable, the Reds hired Singley as a coaching intern.
“I didn’t expect any of this to happen,” Singley said. “My only goal initially was to help Tyler. To me, he’s a big brother. I owe him my life, and I tell him that all of the time. I didn’t expect anything like this to happen.”
As for Stephenson’s part?
“I’m excited to see how this translates in the games,” he said. “Getting those in-game reps will be huge. It’s all about sticking with the process. I feel really good with where I’m at.”