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  • Twins Could Lose Another Key Member Of Coaching Staff


    Parker Hageman

    This time they are coming for Jeremy Hefner.

    According to Marc Carig of The Athletic, the New York Mets are set to interview the Twins' bullpen coach. Hefner has had a meteoric rise in the pitching ranks, first as a middle man between the organization's analytics team and the players and then into a uniformed role in the bullpen in 2019. Hefner's presence has been cited as one of the reasons several Twins' pitchers saw improvements during the season.

    Image courtesy of Ben Ludeman-USA TODAY Sports

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    While a lot of the attention this spring was on the hiring of Wes Johnson, numerous pitchers and coaches lauded Hefner's contributions, deeming the pair a two-headed monster of pitching development. "When you look up and see Jeremy Hefner next to [Johnson] and they speak the same languages but also with different experiences, I think it’s a great combination," Rocco Baldelli told reporters this spring regarding the handling of the pitchers.

    Eno Sarris recently posted a list of potential pitching coaches and Hefner's name was one of the top candidates. Hefner has an excellent ability to break down mechanics on video and explain deficiencies to players so that they understand and can quickly make adjustments, one pitcher told me earlier this year. With the increase in technology and video, it is almost vital to have a pitching coach that can bridge the gap.

    The Twins' major league coaching staff has already lost James Rowson and had the possibility of losing bench coach Derek Shelton as well. They have also lost catching coordinator Tanner Swanson to the Yankees and hitting coordinator Peter Fatse to the Red Sox.

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    Why not sign coaches to multi year contracts with team buy-outs?

     

    That's an interesting thought.

     

    I'm pretty sure it's been done for key coaches in other organizations, like a hitting coach or a pitching coach. But usually that coach is already where wants to be. He doesn't want to continue climbing up the ladder to eventually become a manager. 

     

    If the desire of a coach is to continue growing in their career towards becoming a major league manager (or a general manager), then what kind of contract would they accept  that limits that? These kind of opportunities don't come every year. Is a guy really going to accept sitting in a job he feels he's already mastered for three more years while better jobs go to someone else? 

     

    Maybe, if the compensation is really good, but it's akin to trying to tell a guy at AA that he needs to stay there for several years, rather than go to AAA with another organization. Even if you pay him really well, the point of the journey is to continue the upward climb, not get paid well. 

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    Just to echo what John said, it's that the coaches themselves want flexibility as they try to climb the ladder. 

     

    For the Twins, as long as they can maintain a cohesive culture through the turnover, this is a good thing. Aspiring coaches will want to join this organization when they see they can use it as a pivotal point in their career path. 

     

    I think it should be highlighted that all of the coaches who have left this offseason have done so for higher positions. It's not that they just wanted out for more money or a better work environment. Most coaches and instructors I've talked to this season have raved about the culture. At some point, there's just no more room to elevate someone and other opportunities open up. 

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    So now the bull pen is an example of great success in 2019? A quick review of posts about the bull pen all during the 2019 season tells a different story. Then they get Dyce and march him out there after being on a plane all day and he proceeds to get shelled. Now the bull pen was a thing of beauty? Kind of interesting. If the Twins had great pitching coaches they would have found a way to harness Gibson's natural talent by now.

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    So now the bull pen is an example of great success in 2019? A quick review of posts about the bull pen all during the 2019 season tells a different story. Then they get Dyce and march him out there after being on a plane all day and he proceeds to get shelled. Now the bull pen was a thing of beauty? Kind of interesting. If the Twins had great pitching coaches they would have found a way to harness Gibson's natural talent by now.

     

    DisloyalFeistyKingfisher-size_restricted.gif

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    So now the bull pen is an example of great success in 2019? A quick review of posts about the bull pen all during the 2019 season tells a different story. Then they get Dyce and march him out there after being on a plane all day and he proceeds to get shelled. Now the bull pen was a thing of beauty? Kind of interesting. If the Twins had great pitching coaches they would have found a way to harness Gibson's natural talent by now.

     

     

    Well yes, yes it is....

     

    Posts be damned. 

     

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