This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI -- Batting practice is usually a rather procedural affair, but not on Tuesday at loanDepot park. Derek Hill could hear right-hander Valente Bellozo cheering him on as he took hacks with the rest of the Marlins gathered around the turtle.
About a week ago in Chicago, the coaching staff began discussing the idea of having a swing-decision competition when it learned from director of team travel Sydney Ansley that she could offer a hotel suite on an upcoming road trip of the winner’s choosing.
The club’s pitchers would pick a position player’s name out of a hat and be part of a duo vying for the prize. For three rounds, the batter would see four pitches from assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman.
The winner would accumulate the highest point total from the following scoring system:
Take strike: 0
Take ball: +1
Swing at strike: +1
Swing at ball: -2
“We were thinking of ways that we can kind of compete for them, and everybody's involved,” hitting coach Pedro Guerrero said. “The pitchers, without actually having to do physical work, and the position players, they were the horses, right? The pitchers are betting on the horses. So if the position player wins, the pitcher and that position player also take the cake. And that was the idea behind it. We wanted to focus on swing decisions, since it's something that we are priding ourselves in, and our motto is to ‘hit strikes hard.’ So that's why.”
These were the pairings on Tuesday, when even a few members of the Cubs watched the competition unfold:
Sandy Alcantara/Agustín Ramírez
Calvin Faucher/Graham Pauley
Jesus Tinoco/Eric Wagaman
Anthony Bender/Matt Mervis
Lake Bachar/Javier Sanoja
Cal Quantrill/Nick Fortes
Tyler Phillips/Connor Norby
Cade Gibson/Otto Lopez
Bellozo/Hill
Edward Cabrera/Kyle Stowers
Ryan Weathers/Liam Hicks
Max Meyer/Jesús Sánchez
Ronny Henriquez/Ronny Simon
In a highly contested competition, which required a review of the calculations, Hill and Bellozo were crowned the winners at +14. Hill said he was going to let Bellozo pick the road trip for the suite, since he drew Hill’s name.
“I knew I was going to win that,” Hill said. “‘I got you, dog, don't even sweat it. We're going to be chilling in a suite together toasting champagne glasses. You don't worry about it, buddy. I got you.’”
If you explored the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex during Spring Training, you would’ve seen a similar scene amongst the Minor Leaguers. The organization is aiming to align its philosophy and work across all levels.
“Something that we've implemented, and it's very clear if you walk out to our back fields, the level of competition that's going on,” director of player development Rachel Balkovec said in March. “I don't know who all has been back there, but it's pretty loud, and people are truly getting game reps, and not just kind of the sleepy back field Spring Training games where players are falling asleep on the bench. We're definitely elevating the environment with intensity and competition.
“Tracking everything, making sure that if you're the worst guy on the field, you're going to know it. If you're the best guy on the field, you're going to know it. It's all right there, and I guess bringing reality to the situation and bringing truth to the situation about where a player is and where they can improve.”
Tuesday’s competition was a fun way to work on something the organization preaches. Hill believed it carried over into the game, as he laid off some pitches and recorded a 102.8 mph exit velocity on a lineout in his lone at-bat.
“Breaking out of the routine, coming out and [having] some fun,” Guerrero said. “It's still baseball, something that we’ve loved since we were little kids. Coming out and being able to do it in a Major League environment, thinking that they have to go and compete and win a game every day, that just breaks the monotony of the day.”
Christina De Nicola covers the Marlins for MLB.com.