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It has been a really cool couple of weeks for me. About a month ago I was asked by Dave Warfield to speak in front of the Lion’s Club this Thursday, which I accepted (and am ecstatic about). Then a few days later, I got a call from a reader who happened to know the Kansas City Royals’ head of pitching operations Larry Carter (story is currently in the works) and just yesterday, I got to sit down and have a chat with the New York Mets’ minor league hitting coordinator Ryan Ellis.
In case you are keeping score, the count is now one member a piece from both 2015 World Series teams I have had the privilege to talk to in the past month alone.
As many of you know, I am a gigantic baseball fan and predictably had a really good time talking baseball and hitting with Ellis.
We talked about Yoenis Cespedes and his amazing run with the Metropolitans after the National League East team acquired him from the Detroit Tigers the day of the MLB trade deadline and how he deserved some consideration for the NL Most Valuable Player award.
You all may remember I wrote a column calling for him to be named NL MVP (which didn’t happen but I still feel he should have been).
And we discussed Daniel Murphy and his record-breaking postseason. The Mets’ second baseman broke the club record for most consecutive games with a home run (6) and came within one of tying the Major League record for postseason dingers.
It was really interesting to hear his take on why both hitters had such great success and how hard each worked toward making it happen, even if he didn’t work with both players directly.
You may be asking yourself why is Joe talking about the Mets’ minor league hitting coordinator in what is usually a local column?
Well… Ellis will be in Parkersburg Friday and Saturday to attend an Herb Baseball Academy workshop for the second consecutive year.
“I was really impressed with the level of talent and dedication I saw while I was here last year,”said Ellis. “Plus Ryan (Herb) and I are really good friends and I never pass up a chance to visit with my old college roomate.”
The hitting coach had his hand in the construction of several major contributors to the Mets’ run to the World Series in 2015.
He worked with such big names as Wilmer Flores, Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares just to name a few.
Ellis requested several changes be made during his return visit this year to insure he has more one-on-one time with each of the kids who attend.
The academy is now holding a two-and-a-half hour field session Friday where 12 lucky aspiring baseball players will get the chance to work with the coach and get some tips and tricks for improving their fielding.
The following day, 36 players will be privy to his batting eye as he watches over three two-and-a-half hour hitting sessions (10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 1 -3:30 p.m. and 4 – 6:40 p.m.) made up of a dozen players each.
The coach wants a good chunk of time with each player to make an impact in the way they play the game.
“It really is a difficult sport to learn how to play…baseball,” said the hitting instructor. “Anything I can do to help them progress positively in the game is important to me. I enjoy seeing young people wanting to compete in the sport
“I approach each player differently and figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Then I narrow in on what they can do the strengthen their positives and negate their weaknesses.”
In addition to the solo time with Ellis, each player will receive a hand written evaluation and training recommendation sheet the day of their session.
All four sessions will fill up fast. If interested, e-mail jherbbaseball@gmail.com or call the academy at 304-428-0838.
Contact Joe Albright at jalbright@newsandsentinel.com