11-17-2009, 01:36 PM
There is a very memorable thread from a while back where we wondered about how much of an impact a pitching coach has on the team. I saw over on NSBB that someone had posted a Baseball Prospectus Q&A with Kerry Wood and it had some good info on the subject.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/articl...cleid=9739
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->DL: You mentioned Marty DeMerritt earlier. Have other pitching coaches made a notable impact on your career?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->KW: One of my pitching coaches, a guy who actually passed away in a car accident a few years ago in the Dominican, was Oscar Acosta. I had him in both the minor leagues and in the big leagues. He was probably the biggest influence. He was my first pitching coach in Rookie ball, and we kept in touch. Then he made it to the big leagues with us, so I had him there, and he was probably the most influential. Of course, I also spent seven years with Larry Rothschild. Pitching coaches matter. They’re essential for anybody, even veteran guys. We all need to get back on track, and we all need somebody, especially when we’re throwing on the side, to be able to say, "Hey, you’re doing this, fix it," and boom, you go right back to it. It would be great to have a guy standing behind you on the mound, during the game, to tell you, pitch by pitch, what you’re doing wrong, but like I was saying earlier, the more you’re out there, the more you’re able to kind of fix it yourself. Even veteran players need pitching coaches to say, "Hey!" When you get out there, you don’t always think as clearly as you do when you’re sitting and watching it from the side. So it’s always beneficial, and for the young guys it’s huge. It’s their first taste of someone teaching them at this level, or maybe it’s their first professional coach. I think they’re essential.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/articl...cleid=9739
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->DL: You mentioned Marty DeMerritt earlier. Have other pitching coaches made a notable impact on your career?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->KW: One of my pitching coaches, a guy who actually passed away in a car accident a few years ago in the Dominican, was Oscar Acosta. I had him in both the minor leagues and in the big leagues. He was probably the biggest influence. He was my first pitching coach in Rookie ball, and we kept in touch. Then he made it to the big leagues with us, so I had him there, and he was probably the most influential. Of course, I also spent seven years with Larry Rothschild. Pitching coaches matter. They’re essential for anybody, even veteran guys. We all need to get back on track, and we all need somebody, especially when we’re throwing on the side, to be able to say, "Hey, you’re doing this, fix it," and boom, you go right back to it. It would be great to have a guy standing behind you on the mound, during the game, to tell you, pitch by pitch, what you’re doing wrong, but like I was saying earlier, the more you’re out there, the more you’re able to kind of fix it yourself. Even veteran players need pitching coaches to say, "Hey!" When you get out there, you don’t always think as clearly as you do when you’re sitting and watching it from the side. So it’s always beneficial, and for the young guys it’s huge. It’s their first taste of someone teaching them at this level, or maybe it’s their first professional coach. I think they’re essential.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->