It's not difficult to find those numbers.”Īnd if that doesn’t work, there’s the monetary compensation. “I'm sure some people might think that,” Quatraro said, “but then you can back it up and show him the numbers of what guys do on the first pitch and then, consequently, what they do if you're behind or if you're ahead. Quatraro and Hoover have since set about instilling in Kansas City some of the approach they honed with the Rays, specifically advising their pitchers to challenge hitters in the zone, even if they’re worried they might get lit up. Quatraro, in turn, brought with him Paul Hoover, who had been the major-league field coordinator in Tampa. Picollo, who replaced manager Mike Matheney with former Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. In need of a change, the Royals fired longtime head of baseball operations Dayton Moore at the end of last season and promoted his deputy, J.J. Like everything the Rays do to great success, this so-simple-it-just-might-work strategy has started to proliferate around the sport in recent years, especially in places where former Rays are there to proselytize. They get guys with great stuff and teach them to trust it, even in the zone. This is not an accident it’s a philosophy. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays were among the best in baseball at throwing first-pitch strikes. A pitcher can induce a strike by expertly painting the corners or fooling a hitter with a pitch out of the zone, but the simplest way is by throwing a pitch over the plate. Getting ahead early in counts has obvious, demonstrable value that compounds over the course of a game and a season. Even if that wasn’t the only reason they went 65-97, with the fourth-worst team ERA and the second-worst strikeout rate, it was definitely one of the reasons. Last year, the Royals were the worst team in baseball at throwing first-pitch strikes. The Kansas City Royals are considering paying their pitchers bonuses to give up home runs.
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