SURPRISE, Ariz. – Greg Maddux came to Arizona to teach fielding and hit golf balls.
And right now he’s all out of golf balls.
The Hall of Fame pitcher came to camp for 20 days to hang out with his brother, Mike, again the Rangers pitching coach, and to help wherever he could. Of course, now that you mention it, his older brother and the Rangers did have something that could use a little sprucing up. The pitchers could use a little brushing up – check that, a lot of brushing up – on how to act when they suddenly find themselves part of the actual defense.
Maddux is uniquely qualified. He won 18 Gold Gloves, most of any player at any position, and proved that even when his command on the mound started to fade, he could still help himself and his teammates with his glove. He won Gold Gloves in each of his last two seasons, at ages 41 and 42. Evidence that fielding can be timeless.
“Either you think it’s important or you don’t,” Greg said of pitchers fielding, which is always a staple of early spring training, but has become more of a priority for the Rangers in this camp. “It’s all about outs. I always felt like it was 70 to 90 outs I could get without having to throw an additional pitch. That’s almost 30 innings of scoreless baseball. That was important to me because I wanted to win.”
The Rangers, who begin exhibition play on Friday against Kansas City, could use the help. Though Rangers pitchers were charged with just 13 errors last year, the miscues resulted in 25 runs scoring between the commission of the error and the end of the inning. Along the way, leads were lost and close games got away from them. There were mishandled bunts, seven errant pickoff throws and four other wild throws after fielding a ball cleanly. The Rangers went 4-9 in those games.
And those were just plays where there was an assignable error. There isn’t a true gauge for other makeable plays, times being slow to first to cover on a grounder to the right side, not being in position to back up a base resulting in a runner advancing on an overthrow. According to Fangraphs, the Rangers were -7, 23rd overall, in defense runs saved from the pitcher, which tries to measure every element of fielding. Is it accurate? And pertinent? Well, four of the top five teams in the majors made the postseason. Being better couldn’t hurt.
Fundamentals are a central plank in GM Chris Young’s mission statement for the organization. It begins with practicing with a purpose. Pitchers fielding practice is a staple of early spring training. It can quickly start to look like a group is doing it because everybody has done it for years, but not necessarily with a purpose in mind.
Pitchers are asked to field the ball less than anybody on the diamond. They make their money on throwing the ball, not catching it. Numbers suggest when there is any doubt, a true fielder should handle the baseball over almost any pitcher. There are times, though, it’s simply unavoidable. And though the chances may be low, the damage ends up being big.
“I’ve done more with [pitcher fielding] than ever before,” said Jon Gray. “I think part of that is because of our situation last year. It’s just being more emphasized.
“There is a way for everybody to contribute on every out. One thing Maddux said that really stuck out is ‘Every out is an out. Why leave outs out there?' ”
This is not to say the Rangers will be judged by how well their pitchers field the ball this season. No, that’s not it. But spring training begins with pitchers fielding as a central tenet. Putting emphasis on it conveys that details will matter.
“I feel almost like in the past, I was with teams where we did PFP [pitchers fielding practice] because that’s just what we did,” Martín Pérez said. “Now, it’s about being part of the defense. We are part of the infield, too. It needs to be important to us. It makes a difference. The little things matter.”
The Rangers aren’t re-inventing fielding practice for pitchers. They aren’t going to change pitchers’ deliveries to emphasize landing in an athletic fielding position over executing a quality pitch. They aren’t asking guys to spend hours taking grounders, calling “I got it” or “take it” or practicing pickoff throws. There is a point of diminishing returns.
The work groups are small, which allows for more one-on-one instruction. There are a few more repetitions. And they’ve got a special instructor who knows a little bit about the art.
“The best feedback is watching them take their first five grounders and then watching them take their last five,” Greg Maddux said. “You see such an improvement in a short amount of time. They really are good athletes and they get better at it quickly.
“There are more swings and misses now so there is less opportunity to field, but they will be there from time to time. And hopefully, you’ve done enough fundamentals to make the play properly.”
It’s a little thing. But, as Maddux likes to say, the little things become big things quickly.
