The New York Yankees weren’t pleased with how the Miami Marlins called the game.
The Marlins are one of two MLB teams that have the coaching staff call the pitches. It’s a unique decision that hasn’t caught on. Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon said it’s a terrible decision and feels bad for Marlins catcher Agustín Ramírez.
“Do I think it’s good?” Rodon said about the Marlins’ coaches calling the pitches. “No, I think it’s terrible. When Agustín Ramírez wants to be a free agent, and he’s had every pitch called for him, who the hell is going to look at him and be like, yeah, he’s a catcher? It’s just taking away opportunities to learn.”
Rodon believes the Marlins are devaluing their catchers’ value in free agency as they aren’t calling the games. The Yankees left-hander believes catchers also understand the feel of the game in the moment. And has full confidence in them calling the games.
However, the Marlins feel like having the coaching staff call games is the better idea, but it’s not something the Yankees will be doing anytime soon.
As for Rodon, he’s currently rehabbing from his injury and is expected to return to the rotation in the coming weeks.
Yankees Wouldn’t Have Coaches Call Pitches
Along with Rodon, Yankees catcher Austin Wells doesn’t like the idea of coaches calling the pitches.
Wells believes catchers feel the game differently, seeing the swings and what happens behind the plate. So, Wells believes the Yankees won’t be adapting what the Marlins are doing anytime soon.
“Calling pitches (from the dugout) is completely different than from behind the plate and reading swings and being in the box,” Wells said. “If you’re just relying on whatever the dugout is trying to call, you’re going to lose out on a lot of valuable time and feedback on whether you call the right or wrong pitch.
“If you call the wrong pitch and you thought one thing and it ended up being bad, you’re gonna learn from that. With whatever the coaches are calling, you’re not learning and growing with the game. Especially when you face guys in your division over and over again. You have an idea of what each guy does well or doesn’t do well. And you’re able to grow from being in there. Watching film and looking at the numbers only gets you so far.”
Wells said the coaches do talk to him and JC Escarra between innings, but they have free rein to call the game how they see fit.
Marlins Explains Controversial Decision
Miami using its coaches to call pitches is unique, but it’s something the Marlins thought of last season.
Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara said the idea came from Alon Leichman, who’s now the pitching coach for the Rockies.
“That was an idea that came from our (assistant) pitching coach last year,” Alcantara said. “We did it a couple times last year and we had great success. They call the pitches and the catcher gives the sign to the pitcher. And we do the same this year — for everyone. I think it’s a good idea because they call a pitch that they think is good for you to get a groundball or a strikeout. We feel great because they call the pitches.”
The Marlins are off to a 6-3 start, so perhaps it is something that works well for the pitchers.
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