Potanko: Altoona Building Culture That Should be Repeated (+)
Ever since I returned from Altoona, my mind has been racing with excitement. For those of you that don’t know, I took a trip to cover the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A club for their opening series.
On my first day there, I could feel the excitement on the diamond as well as the whole town of Altoona as I observed batting practice.
Everyone in the one restaurant I was in was talking about the home opener.
I could see prospects like Henry Davis, Liover Peguero, and Mason Martin talking to one another and pulling aside Altoona’s hitting coach Jon Nunnally aside to discuss their approaches.
Despite guys like Davis, Martin, and Peguero repeating another year in Double-A, you could see and feel a sense of excitement in these prospects to get their seasons started.
Maybe it’s to prove people wrong or prove something to themselves, but regardless, it was time to hit some baseballs in batting practice, and there were a few things I noticed.
I noticed Henry Davis with his patterned no batting gloves and a lot of loud contact.
Davis had a stoic look about him; no matter how the ball sounded or where the ball went, Davis had that stoic demeanor, but when he left the batting box, it was like a switch flipped, and he was laughing and joking with his teammates.
You can tell that Davis is a completely different person at the plate than he is in his everyday life.
Peguero impressed me the most during the entire week.
Peguero made a lot of loud contact and hit a few balls out of the park. There was only one instance I saw Peguero hit a ball on the ground, and you could even argue it would’ve been a base hit in a legit game.
It wasn’t even his bat that impressed me; it was his willingness to work on his defensive game.
Peguero worked a ton on his fielding skills at second base during the week, and if I’m being honest, he needs every second of practice there after last year.
Peguero’s range at second base was above average during his drills, and he kept a simple approach when fielding routine grounders.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Peguero performs better at second base this year.
As an overall feel for all of the players vying for attention and validation, I was thoroughly impressed with how much of a brotherhood the players had with one another.
In an environment that creates a dog-eat-dog mentality to try and make it to the big leagues, it was a pleasant surprise to see each player there for their “brother.”
To go along with that brother mentality, I also witnessed a completely relaxed environment in the clubhouse and on the field.
Players were allowed to wear what they want and have hair or facial hair, which is a completely different environment than the previous regime, from what I was told.
The old Pittsburgh Pirates regime would make you wear a suit and tie, and look somewhat cleaned up, and honestly, I’m glad that has changed.
In order for one to feel comfortable in their own skin, they must express themselves however they want within reason. Allowing them to express themselves, could benefit their game, which benefits the team in the long run.
Lastly, I witnessed an “open door” policy with the coaches in Altoona.
It seems to me that coaches like Nunnally and Callix Crabbe are pseudo-father figures to these young athletes and take that role very seriously.
I witnessed Nunnally, and Martin talk on the side of the batting cage for a solid 20 minutes, discussing one aspect of Martin’s game that he could improve, and sure enough, Martin has been hitting the ball much better since that conversation with a 1.250 OPS on the early season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have some special coaches in their minor league system.
These coaches care about these players and are helping them become better players and, more importantly, better men.
More about:Opinion