John Harper on the Mets' foundation for pitching success

SNY’s John Harper wrote a really nice piece about the “organizational success story” of the Mets’ pitching. He got detailed quotes from former Mets acting GM Zack Scott, as well as former Mets pitcher Al Leiter, detailing how far the club has come under owner Steve Cohen in terms of technology and analytics. The article notes that the reason the club wasn’t even further behind was due to the presence of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Here’s what Scott said:

"They were really behind analytically," Scott recalled during a recent phone conversation. "It didn’t feel great, coming from Boston where they had so many analytical tools, and yet the Mets were in a decent place with pitching, mostly because of their communication process.

"They didn’t have (analytical) tools but they were getting good buy-in to what they were doing because of Jeremy. He has the rare combination of understanding the complexity on the data side, the ability to interact with analysts and speak their language, but also the ability to speak the players’ language. He could impart the information without shoving it down their throats and also has the even-keeled personality to deal with pushback and coach the human side of major league pitchers."

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"But the building blocks were in place, with Jeremy at the center of their communication. So it doesn’t surprise me that once they were getting caught up with the rest of the league, in terms of tools, that they could take a big step forward and have the kind of pitching success they’re having now."

Here’s what Leiter, who was involved with the hiring of Hefner, works as an analyst for the MLB Network and has a son pitching for the Texas Rangers, said of pitching labs in general:

"It’s technology that takes in all the data on every pitch and deciphers the good and the bad," Leiter said. "With video and high-speed cameras and pitch-tracking monitors and biomechanical cameras, it breaks down every little thing in how you deliver the ball, how it comes off your fingers, and why it works or doesn’t work.

"They have pitch designers now who look at the information and come up with ways to pair pitches effectively, how often you should be throwing your slider, which pitches best complement your fastball. All that stuff.

"You can sit and look at it for hours but it still goes back to whether you can implement it: 'What are the skills and drills that I have to do to make it work for me?' To me that’s the special sauce."

There’s a lot quoted from the actual article here but there’s still a lot more in the piece and it’s well worth checking out if you haven’t already seen it, including a funny quote from a rival executive about the Mets’ Pitching Lab.

Source: SNY.tv