SARASOTA, Fla. -- For nearly two weeks now, Brandon Hyde has spent his mornings zipping a golf cart around the back fields of Ed Smith Stadium, glove in hand, bounce in his step. As the 60 players in camp scatter, Hyde hops from station to station. He will shag BP and observe drills. He will commensurate with his coaches. Occasionally, he will squat down between cadres of catchers to demonstrate a new technique.
But mostly, Hyde has been “learning to step back and delegate,” which he says “has been weird.” Chalk it up to the early anxieties that await a rookie skipper, and the added scope of responsibility the job requires. No stranger to big league camps, Hyde is less familiar to the long-term initiatives that have consumed the early stages of his spring. The meetings. The media sessions. The host of decisions still to come, most of which are his to make.
“We’ve talked a lot about great teammates, creating a winning environment, creating a great work place, and I think we’ve done that,” Hyde said. “We’re at the that point now where we’re ready to face another jersey.”
It’s a mantra Hyde has repeated daily in preparation for this weekend, and now that point is here. Though just an exhibition, Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Twins will mark Hyde’s first game at the helm since a one-game stint as the Marlins’ interim skipper in 2011. Before that, he last managed at Double-A in 2009.
“It’s Spring Training for everybody,” Hyde said.
The formulaic nature of spring games will make strategic tactics tough to simulate. But for an array of logistical aspects -- from the relaying of signs to the base coaches, to infield positioning, to interacting with umpires, et al -- the Grapefruit League provides an initial testing ground. If nothing else, the 30-game slate gives Hyde and his bench coach-less staff a chance to buck the learning curve that awaits them in 2019.
“The next month is really about getting that stuff tight,” Hyde said. “Spring Training games matter from that standpoint, from the coaching side, and how you want your team to play. Then being able to talk about situations that came up that we can get better at.”
In what’s quickly become his hallmark trait, Hyde plans to tackle those challenges with relentless optimism. Hyde’s workouts have drawn rave reviews from players for their efficiency and their focus of fundamentals like defense and baserunning. But the biggest takeaway for many, like Dylan Bundy, is “the energy level.”
“He says ‘compete’ a lot,” Bundy said. “That’s one of his biggest things.”
“It’s been a breath of fresh air in a way,” outfielder Trey Mancini said. “He’s incredibly upbeat and positive.”
That attitude has been plain to see in his public comments, where Hyde often takes a glass-half-full stance on the team’s litany of roster questions. Some infield drills run four players deep at every position, with no clear answer at half of them. Hyde calls that “awesome.” Of the nine left-handers here jockeying for just a couple bullpen roles, Hyde asks, "Isn't that great?"
A fortnight in, he’s yet to let the word “rebuild” slip into his messaging.
“I want to get the culture right. ... I feel like we’re going to go out and compete, and try to win every single night,” Hyde said. “I’m going to work my rear off to be as prepared as I possibly can, and learn along the way. That’s something I’ve always done -- throwing myself into it."