Earlier, I described the various technologies that I’ve found are being used in baseball in general, and mostly, by the Cardinals.  As I followed the trail of breadcrumbs around, I began to discover that it wasn’t so much the technology the Cardinals had fallen behind in (yes, there was and still are some deficits there), but what really had shown up was that the Cardinals lacked the people behind the curtain, and in the few places they had the people, there wasn’t a lot of cohesion and coordination.  Not out of any sinister bureaucratic plot, but likely people spread too thin to be engaged in and knowledgeable about all the various moving parts of an organization. 

The People Behind the Curtain

As with all tech, there needs to be people to set up the tech, make it work, integrate it with other tech and so on.  It can be one whole job to know about and take care of the Force Plates technology and gather some data with it.  It can be a whole ‘nuther job (and a separate specialty) to know about and take care of the Kinatrax system.  Both produce mounds of data.

But how does one interpret and synthesize the data and make it actionable?   I might know about Force Plate technology, but now I need to know something about…pitching.  And what makes the act of pitching efficient (or inefficient)?

Then a third someone needs to bring the two tech domains together and understand how the Ground Force reading from the Force Plates can be seen affecting the kinetic chain reactions observed in the Kinatrax system.  And with that, someone needs to understand anatomy and physiology of the human body. On top, someone needs to figure out what the readings mean and how they might need to be different.

Then you need another specialty in physical therapy or physical training to work with players to develop isolated exercises that get muscles trained to operate differently than the current habit (no easy feat!).  It turns out, you can’t just tell a pitcher they need to lengthen their stride ¼” and rotate their hips .2 seconds earlier to get things more efficiently synced up. 

Enter, Carl Kochan, Director of Performance, St. Louis Baseball Cardinals, LLC. 

Anyone have any idea of who this is?  I did not.  He replaced Robert Butler, the prior Director just over a year ago.  From what I can tell, his charter is to reach across various stovepipes in the organization to develop a working performance model for players that addresses travel and fatigue management and in-game demands (high demand for pitchers/catchers and very bursty demand for other players).  In a 3-hour game, a position player might actually exert an acute work load for 5-10 minutes.  Pitchers and catchers?  The opposite. 

His charter seems to focus on the minor league side, and includes tech people, nutrition specialists, medical coordinators, physical therapists, rehab specialists and trainers.  He certainly has to reach wider than that if the coaches and development side of the organization is going to be in sync with the performance side. 

In the Performance Department underneath Mr. Kochan, there are 3 strength and conditioning folks plus a coordinator, 2 rehab folks plus 3 medical coordinators (one of these in the DSL), 4 MiLB trainers, a nutritionist and 4 performance science experts. Total of nineteen folks. Just in the Performance Department. Want to guess how many of these positions existed in 2020? If you have a guess of two, you are spot on.

Here is a current opening in this organization (via Indeed.com):

Did you see the part in the job opening about collaborating with the player development team? Let’s look there. They currently have 29 staff members, led by Larry Day. This includes pitching, hitting and field coordinators, various minor league hitting and pitching coordinators and assistant coaches. How many did they have in these roles in 2020? None. As recently as 2024, they had sixteen. Just about doubled in size in the last 18 months. As near as I can tell, all but one of the original 16 are gone, except one. Jose Oquendo. As near as I can tell, this is where the complete tear-down and rebuild occurred.

The ocean of data

As you might suspect, all these technologies produce mountains of data.   This creates challenges consistent with what other industries are encountering … managing “big data”. An organization can be awash with data but be unaware of what the most useful bits and pieces are.

There is a lot of scientific rigor in a group like this, which probably creates some interesting culture rubs with old-school baseball guys and the players themselves.  Paul DeJong probably would be an exception here. 

These guys are looking at challenges like where do they not have information they should?  How can the data they collect contribute to improved strength and conditioning.  Arm care appears to be a major focus of these efforts, pre-game, in-game AND post-game. 

Another challenge is integrating this stuff across the levels of the organization and a need to improve consistency with player feedback.  It probably doesn’t help if a player hears one thing at Driveline and another thing in the pitching lab at Jupiter.   

Another challenge, right now they have no centralized repository for biomech data.  It is hard to get a common understanding if the different professions and aptitudes can’t even access the data. 

Playing from behind, catching up and getting ahead

With all this data capture, there is greater visibility in more intricate detail, but not necessarily more knowledge in how to react to the inputs they are getting.  For instance, they might get a shoulder measurement from force plates that tells the reaction force of pitchers arm at full extension.  So what?  Is there benefit in custom tailoring a workout regime to increase that force?  What does it mean if that force measures at 5% lower the data after a start from the day before?  Does that indicate fatigue or low-level injury?  Normal or aberrant?   

What seems to come through all the noise is that this data is used to two different ends: 1) to help keep the players healthy and 2) to help them identify ways to optimize their performance. 

A Case Study:  Mathew Liberatore

I suppose most people remember that mid-season (early June, actually) start Liberatore had where his velocity cratered and he got hit hard by a not typically hard-hitting Kansas City lineup?   The decline was so abrupt many worried he was hurt. They put him through a battery of physical tests, checking for injury and came up empty. Then they looked at the bio-mechanics data (ie. the advanced video) from the start and came up with some issues in how his mechanics were “out of sync” (his words) and the expectation that this was caused more by overall “fatigue issues” (again, his words).

In this new modern world, they use this data to develop specific conditioning programs to reduce these issues (and they take time to implement). Simply put, you no longer are left with observations like “he is opening up too soon and the arm is dragging through”. Now they can see if that is occurring because of his stride, his hip rotation, the torso rotation, shoulder, arm angle, whatever. Unconfirmed, but I’d bet Libby has spent this off-season working to improve strength and stamina and getting the kinetic chain to sync and stay synced during acute workloads exceeding an hour.

The last challenge – working across the stovepipes

Almost all organization hierarchies have stove pipes and they can create cultural boundaries that can be difficult to cross. When the Cardinals hired multiple new people (Pierpoint, Day, Cerfolio, Kochan) in the 2024-2025 off-season, the common theme among them was their mission was to get the different parts of the organization to work together better.

It’s not hard to imagine some old school coach in some far-off minor league town not quite embracing or trusting a new PT regime a player has adopted coming out of the hitting or pitching lab. The players themselves don’t always embrace. I think it was Joshua Baez who said something along the lines of having gotten information overload and needing to simplify things to make the gains he has made.

There has always been a natural rivalry between scouting and development. Now you add in all the tech and performance guys and complexity expands. Plus, the geographic distances. Palm Beach, Peoria, Springfield, Memphis and St. Louis can all be hard to keep in sync, particularly when the technology and the knowledge of how to apply is uneven across those boundaries.

The last stovepipe I observe is cultural and linguistic. This stuff is hard enough for all the English speakers. I’m sure many people see this stuff as Greek to them. A good segment of the Cardinal prospects speak English as a second language, or not at all. They clearly did not have enough Spanish speakers in camp this past spring, and the few they had were very busy running from field to field trying to translate coaching instructions. I wonder how many ESL types were inside the labs doing the same.

Summary

The technology evolution that is sweeping baseball swamped St. Louis and they are just getting their organizational stuff together in this area. Lots of change. Likely lots more will change.

Capturing all this has been daunting and I am aware that I’m just scratching the surface. Meanwhile, the environment I observe changes as I observe. My learning goal in this arena is to see if I can get a tour of this stuff when I’m Jupiter next month. Wish me luck.

Happy Friday everyone, lots of fun little tidbits for you in our news of the day. We’ve got some more thoughts and discussion about the Hall of Fame inductees, including some bold sentiments from Carlos Beltran about why he doesn’t want to be defined by the Astros cheating scandal. Plus, two big starting pitcher trades see moves being made for the Rangers and Mets (of course, what aren’t the Mets doing these days?)

On the topic of starting pitchers, there’s also some Hall of Fame debate about whether or not they’re being snubbed by Cooperstown.

Let’s just jump right into it!

• Ben Clemens looks at the deal that sent MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers.
• Plus, Eric Longenhagen looks at the prospect haul the Nationals are pinning their future hopes on in the trade.
• Luis Robert Jr. had a lot of trade chatter around his name last season, but stayed with the White Sox, now he’s been snagged by the Mets. Story by Ben Clemens.
• A look at the “win-win” Freddy Peralta trade. Story by Mark Feinsand.
• Karl Rasmussen looks at the three teams with the most confusing offseasons.
• Carlos Beltran does not think his career should be defined by the Astros scandal. (ESPN)
• Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors questions if MLB parity is possible without a salary cap.
• This is believable but still nuts.

• Jay Jaffe takes a candidate-by-candidate look at those on the Hall of Fame ballot.
• Michael Baumann laments the trend of pitchers wearing single-digit jersey numbers.
• Anthony Castrovince shares which caps will be immortalized with the new Hall of Fame inductees.
• Patrick Andres shares that Bob Costas will anchor the pre-game show for Sunday Night Baseball.
• Ken Rosenthal tries to determine if the Mets are now better than they were last season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Some of the potential first-timers who could appear on next year’s Hall of Fame ballot.

• After a lot of back and forth, Cody Bellinger is once again a Yankee. Story by Ben Clemens.
• With the big starting pitcher trades, which pitcher could be on the move next? (MLB)
• Madison Williams reports that Yadier Molina will be taking on a new role with the Cardinals.
• Bradford Doolittle questions whether the Hall of Fame has a starting pitcher problem.
• This is very interesting!

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

After the mostly-promising but late-season collapse of 20222024 1984, the Minnesota Twins sagged to 77-85 in 1985. Things got worse in ‘86: 71-91, 6th in the AL West—21 GB the West-winning California Angels. The average draw of 15,000 per Metrodome contest—2nd-worst in AL attendance coffers—presented a lot of bad baseball for Bob Kurtz & Harmon Killebrew (on TV) and Herb Carneal & Joe Angel (on the dial) to cover, but also some signs that pieces were falling into place for a promising future.

Pitching (90 ERA+)

With the exception of ever-stalwart Bert Blyleven (17-14, 271.2 IP, 107 ERA+)—who even still gave up an MLB-record 50 home runs—and up-and-coming Frank Viola (16-13, 245.2 IP, 95 ERA+), pitching was this club’s Achilles heel.

Mike Smithson, Neal Heaton, & Mark Portugal were far worse than Rik Aalbert & Frankie out of the starting rotation. The pen at least had solid seasons from Keith Atherton (114 ERA+) & Roy Lee Jackson (111 ERA+)—but for some unknown reason still gave Ron Davis 38.2 IP, which of course netted a 47 ERA+. John Butcher (70 IP, 68 ERA+) wasn’t much more effective.

Offense (103 OPS+)

The quintet of Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, & Roy Smalley all eclipsed 20 dingers, cultivating the Homer Dome reputation.

Especially stand-out were Puck (5.7 WAR, 223 H, 119 R, 37 2B, 31 HR, 96 RBI, 20 SB, .328 BA, 142 OPS+, Gold Glove) & the G-Man (5.8 WAR, 34 2B, 34 HR, 108 RBI, .287 BA, 131 OPS+, Gold Glove).

The most memorable moments from ‘86…

• May 30: Smalley homers from both sides of the plate
• Puck representing MN at the All-Star game in the Astrodome
• August 1: Kirby hits for the cycle AND Blyleven records his 3,000th strikeout!
• October 4: Greg Gagne hits two inside-the-park home runsin the same game.

None of this was good enough to keep the Twins in contention—especially with a dispiriting 11 walk-off losses thrown into the mix. So in compiling a 59-80 record by September 12, manager Ray Miller was relieved of his duties after 1.93 seasons of top-step service. This led to the hiring of 36-year old skipper Tom Kelly—who presided over a 12-11 ‘86 denouement.

Of final note: The ‘86 Twins were horrific on the road—28-53. But at the Metrodome: 43-38.

The franchise was at a fulcrum: while seemingly set up with talent on the field, a new young manager, and an ability to dominate at home, two straight disappointing seasons after the promise of 1984 did not exactly inspire a ton of confidence for what 1987 would bring.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

MLB teams are continuing to make big moves for starting pitchers. Unfortunately, the Orioles are not currently one of those teams.

The Texas Rangers were the latest to strike for a high-upside hurler, acquiring Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore yesterday for a five-prospect package. The 26-year-old Gore was a first-time All-Star last season for Washington, posting a 3.02 ERA in the first half before injuries slowed him in the final month. He’s a hard-throwing, strikeout-happy, somewhat command-challenged lefty with two years of team control.

The rebuilding Nats had Gore on the market all winter, and there were some whispers that the Orioles were interested, but ultimately it was the Rangers who made the deal. They gave up five of their top 18 prospects (as ranked by MLB Pipeline), so it’s not as if Gore came cheap. That kind of package might have been too rich for Mike Elias’s blood, assuming the O’s were even interested in Gore to begin with. The Birds already parted with a number of prospects in their December deal for Shane Baz, another 26-year-old with an intriguing arm and multiple years of team control remaining.

With Gore off the board, one day after the Brewers dealt Freddy Peralta to the Mets, there are precious few starting pitchers left on the trade market. If the Orioles were hoping to go the trade route for a rotation upgrade, they might have missed their chance. Then again, they could swoop out of nowhere and acquire some pitcher that nobody even knew was available. That’s essentially what they did with Baz, who hadn’t been linked to the Orioles in any rumors before the O’s pulled off the trade. Elias tends to keep us on our toes, you know.

Do the Orioles have another pitching acquisition still to come, or are they going to roll into the spring with what they’ve got now? The latter would seem like a disappointing outcome, especially when so many O’s fans were convinced the team would act aggressively to land a top-shelf starter after the Pete Alonso signing.

It could still happen. But the opportunities are dwindling.

Links

Orioles claim Weston Wilson (another Birdland Caravan update) – School of Roch

The Orioles acquired another outfielder who will probably spend all year at Triple-A. Who says they weren’t busy yesterday?

Will Orioles be better with Shane Baz instead of Grayson Rodriguez? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

These two pitchers are more similar than I’d like to admit. But Baz has the advantage of having already returned from injury and pitched a full season, which is more than can currently be said of Grayson.

Orioles cancel Saturday Birdland Caravan events due to forecast snowstorm – The Baltimore Banner

It’s the right decision, but it’s a real bummer that the Orioles’ fan event weekend will be cut short. I haven’t gotten to go bowling with Adley Rutschman in weeks.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies, though you might not have heard of most of them: infielders Cord Phelps (39) and Marty Brown (63); catcher Charlie Greene (55); outfielder Sherman Obando (56); and the late infielder Chico Carrasquel (b. 1926, d. 2005), who was a four-time All-Star with the White Sox before joining the Birds.

On this day in 1984, the Orioles signed Dan Ford. On this day in 1986, the Orioles released Dan Ford. Jan. 23 sure has been an eventful day for Dan Ford.

And on this date in 2010, the Orioles reunited with All-Star infielder Miguel Tejada, signing him to a one-year, $6 million deal. Tejada had been a star in his first stint with the Orioles from 2004-07, including a franchise-record 150 RBIs in 2004, before the rebuilding O’s traded him to Houston. His second stint in Baltimore, though, was forgettable. The longtime shortstop shifted to third base and struggled defensively, while his offense also plummeted (seven homers and a .670 OPS in 97 games). The Birds dumped Tejada and his salary to the Padres at the trade deadline.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Hack Wilson finds another new team. Happy birthday, Jeff Samardzija*and other stories for the discerning reader.

Today in baseball history:

• 1887 – In Alameda, California, Dave Foutz and a touring team based in Louisville are accused of throwing a game against another touring team of Eastern pros. These exhibitions and the local California League competition are making for a lively winter in the San Francisco Bay Area. (2)
• 1927 – In the continuing clash between Commissioner Kenesaw Landis and American League President Ban Johnson, the AL owners are prepared to censure Johnson. But his serious health problems convince them to change their stance and Johnson is given an indefinite leave of absence instead. Detroit Tigers President Frank Navin takes over control of the league on an interim basis and the owners adopt a resolution repudiating the charges that Johnson made against Landis. (2)
• 1932 – The Brooklyn Dodgers acquire slugger Hack Wilson from the St. Louis Cardinals. Wilson, who costs only $45,000 and a minor league pitcher, will sign for $16,500, half his previous year’s salary. He will hit .297 with 23 home runs and 123 RBI for Brooklyn.
• 1953 – Argyle R. Mackey warns ‘alien players’ they will face deportation if found jumping U.S. professional contracts. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization cites the McCarran-Walter Act as the basis of his decision. (1)

Further reading: The history of the Antitrust Exemption (NYT); Los Chorizeros.

• 1956 – Hall of Fame umpire Billy Evans dies in Miami, Florida, at the age of 71. Evans began his major league umpiring career in 1906, when he was only 22 years old. (2)
• 1981 – Faced with the possibility of losing star outfielder Fred Lynn to free agency because of a front-office blunder, the Red Sox trade Lynn and pitcher Steve Renko to the Angels for pitchers Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey and outfielder Joe Rudi. The Players Association contends that Lynn and catcher Carlton Fisk are free agents because the Red Sox failed to mail their new contracts by the deadline provided for in the Basic Agreement. Lynn signs a four-year deal with the Angels and agrees to drop his case. Fisk’s case will go to arbitration. (1,2)
• 1988 – Arbitrator Thomas Roberts declares seven presently contracted players no-risk free agents as a result of the collusion suit against Major League baseball. The players, who include Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, and Joe Niekro, have until March 1 to make deals with other clubs. (1)

MLB collusion, explained.

• 2013 – Coming off the best season of his career, free agent OF Scott Hairston signs a two-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.(2)

Cubs Birthdays:Bill Bowman, Joey Amalfitano, Don Nottebart, Dick Burwell, Jeff Samardzija*, Addison Russell.

Today in History:

• 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor.
• 971 – War elephant corps of the Southern Han defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops; Southern Han state forced to submit to the Song Dynasty. 1st regular war elephant corps in Chinese army.
• 1556 – Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest ever recorded, kills 830,000 in Shaanxi Province, China.
• 1812 – 7.8 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri.
• 1930 – Clyde Tombaugh photographs dwarf planet Pluto.
• 1957 – Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee flying disc (originally called the “Pluto Platter” – until 1958).
• 1973 – US President Richard Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end the Vietnam War.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

If we’re being perfectly logical, the Phillies right now have not been completely successful in their offseason plan as they did not reel in the big fish in Bo Bichette. However, the word “completely” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here since we can still term this offseason successful by looking at what they did actually do.

Imagine this lineup without the 50 home run power potential Kyle Schwarber possesses. What if he signed with Cincinnati?

Imagine the bullpen without the impact that Brad Keller projects to have. Do we think Orion Kerkering deserves that kind of high leverage assignment again?

Are there still issues with the roster? Of course. God help us all if one of the main starting outfielders gets any kind of major injury. Are there depth issues in the rotation? Adding yet another starter would be kind of nice to mitigate some of the potential pitfalls that lay ahead. But calling the entirety of the offseason a failure is a bit extreme. It could have, and maybe should have, been better. But a failure? No.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Think the Phillies are going to ditch their policy of not offering opt-outs? THINK AGAIN, PAL!! (but seriously, they should think about it)
• Even though his presence still haunts the walls of Citizens Bank Park, the team still will let go of Nick Castellanos.

MLB news:

• You know what’s always a good time? Power rankings of farm systems by people that don’t really scout much.
• However, Baseball America gave their top 100 prospects in the game, a list that included three Phillies youngsters ($).
• MacKenzie Gore is no longer in the NL East thanks to his deal to the Rangers, but he’ll still see the Phillies at the beginning of the season!
• Jung Hoo Lee was briefly detained at the airport in San Francisco, but it seemed to be an issue of forgetting some paperwork, an issue that was resolved swiftly.
• With Cody Bellinger and Freddy Peralta on new teams, what does the free agent market and trade market now look like?