COVID-19 has been a difficult time for everyone and has affected many lives both on and off the baseball field. Many friends and colleagues were significantly affected. As a result, aren’t as fortunate to continue doing what they love for the 2021 season.
I know personally that baseball has become such an integral part of my family's life. I literally grew up in baseball. Before accepting my first job in professional baseball, I lived at home with my parents and wasn’t quite sure what path to take. I was fortunate to grow and develop under some great leadership within that organization. They taught me how to be a pro and go about my business the right way. Most importantly, they taught me how to develop people, not just the player.
Baseball Development
Baseball development was more to them than just squats, rows, and sprints. It was about personally sacrificing and investing your time and efforts into the individual and their personal development. The most immediate thing I noticed was how players responded to this coaching style. It has been the thing that has stuck with me throughout my career, even today.
“If you develop the person, you develop the player.”
I see a player and see more than just their contract or prospect status. Through my eyes, I see a person who is chasing a dream and looking to provide for their family with struggle, heartbreak, passion, blood, sweat, and tears. Sometimes going the extra mile as coaches and finding the little movement pattern, strength, or mobility deficiency can mean the difference in a player being released and realizing their dream of stepping onto a major league field. Therefore, I sacrifice time away from my own family. It’s the unselfishness instilled into me at an early age by my parents—the need to help others achieve greatness. If you talked to other strength coaches around the league, you'll hear very similar stories because that’s who we are.
Then came COVID-19, and the entire world, for more than just a moment, shut down.
MLB Strength and Conditioning
The MLB still had a season; however, the future of the game did not. There was no minor league season in 2020; jobs were lost, opportunities missed, and dreams unfulfilled. Not having minor league baseball for a full season was difficult on everyone, to say the least. This article, however, is not meant to dwell on the past. It is meant to give a small glance at how baseball strength and conditioning is a brother- and sisterhood. Strength and conditioning, especially in professional baseball, is such a big family. Few professions have such a collection of different individuals and cultures striving for the same cause and common goal.
The concept for this article came to me as I was standing on the left-field line for the national anthem on opening day this season. It had been over a year-and-a-half since I stood on a baseball field entrusted with the responsibility of thirty-plus minor league and future major league careers. I became emotional as the anthem rang out. I thought about all the players I’ve been fortunate to have an opportunity to positively impact. My entire career literally flashed in my head. I thought about all those who were impacted by what had transpired over the past year-and-a-half and how so many of my friends and former colleagues weren’t as fortunate to be right here where I was standing.
The following stories and perspectives are from minor league strength coaches. Read as they describe what opening day this season means to them, including the changes and challenges they face.
Andy Lyon—Rehab Coordinator SF Giants
“It is easy to be excited for opening day. Those opening day butterflies we all feel bring hope. Hope that the work your athletes put in over the offseason pays off, hope that you make a positive impact on someone’s career, hope that you forge life-long relationships, and of course the hope for winning it all. For me, opening day represents the start of a new family coming together to compete 142 times over the next 150 days.
Pretty soon those butterflies begin to turn to knots as the weather gets warmer. The days become longer and reality sets in that you’re at the ballpark for 14 hours a day with no sign of an off day for the next three weeks. It takes a special kind of person to wake up each and every morning with the same positive outlook, energy, and passion. Yet, that is exactly what we as strength and conditioning coaches in minor league baseball are tasked with doing throughout the dog days of summer.
Last year was tough on us all, but if missing out on a year of doing what I love has taught me anything, it is to not take this game for granted. This game that we are all fortunate to have in our lives can be taken from us at any moment. We must take a step back from the daily “grind” to find those butterfly feelings every night and realize how lucky we truly are to be a part of this family. Appreciate those around you, appreciate the memories you’ve made and appreciate the game of baseball. It is easy to be excited for opening day, but I am grateful for the other 364 every bit as much.”
Matt Jordan—Minor League S&C SF Giants
“Opening day was, in many ways, an attempt at normalcy. Spring training kept our group isolated from public life for the previous month, so the crowd of 800 on opening night was the most striking part of the experience. The month-late start and the masked crowd were apt reminders that we were merely dipping our toe into the pool of normalcy; this was not the headfirst dive we were hoping for.
Like the crowd, Minor League Baseball was also beholden to new rules and regulations. Coaching in Minor League Baseball already had unique challenges. Restrictions on our facilities and the addition of COVID-19 tests and daily temperature checks have added further complications.
As I write this, a quarter of the way through our season, I can say with confidence that it wasn’t perfect. Nevertheless, baseball continues to be a special part of the American identity.
A year in quarantine brought a keen awareness of the value of maintaining our social circles. It was a year of loss and loneliness for many people, made more difficult because our support structures were largely unavailable to us. Baseball is here at the forefront of our reopening to ease us back into normal life. It’s an opportunity for a family to spend an evening out, for two strangers to chat while chirping at the opposition, and to stay out in public past 10:30 pm. No matter how mundane they may seem, these interactions are important steps for us to move forward.
It's been no less special for those of us on the field. I’ve had the privilege of sharing the season with an excellent staff and a wonderful group of players. I’ve also been fortunate enough to build new relationships outside of the organization. The limitations born from COVID protocols have made me a better coach. Working under constraints has forced me to decide what’s important and taught me to do more using less. Perhaps most importantly, I’m learning to become a more patient human being. I’m learning to let go of the fruitless pursuit of a perfect day or a perfect program, and instead just be there for our players.
Baseball in its current state continues to be a microcosm of our country. It's got its issues; it's showing its age in some ways. The last two years have been defined by their tumultuousness. The fast-approaching expiration of the collective bargaining agreement serves as a further reminder that this isn’t going to change anytime soon. But baseball will persevere, baseball will continue to provide for us, and baseball will continue to be our pastime.”
Mark Spadavecchia—Minor League S&C San Diego Padres
“Opening day felt surreal this year after the cumulative experience of uncertainty that came with the pandemic. The mental and physical energy to prepare to return to this amazing career through the months of unknown by all involved created a palpable excitement to begin the new minor league season. The opportunity to return to working in a collaborative and competitive effort with players and staff has been a true blessing.
The sense of community has been strong while interacting with current strength and conditioning co-workers, past strength and conditioning co-workers, and strength and conditioning staff around the affiliate league to optimize training for the players and support for each other. Whether talking with fellow coaches I have known for years or coaches I have just met this season, the relationships have been familial and encouraging.
It has never been easier to stay present-minded and take it all in.”
Conclusion
This article was not meant to provide training advice, block periodization strategies, or speed development programs. Not today. However, what I hoped to convey is that there are so many unselfish, special people who are tasked with working with and developing the future of minor league baseball and the unity that exists within. We all may be working for different organizations; however, we all are working for the same common goal: developing the people that will become the future of this beautiful game that we all lovingly call baseball.
Header image credit: matrosovv © 123rf.com
Dwayne Peterson has worked in professional baseball for eight years. Six of those years were spent working as a minor league S&C with the Houston Astros, where he worked as an S&C at every level in the minor leagues from short season to AAA—fortunate enough to be a part of the organization during the 2017 World Series Championship Season. Dwayne currently is the AAA S&C coach for the San Fransisco Giants organization. He completed his undergraduate degree in exercise science and MBA at Northern Kentucky University and is in the process of obtaining his Ph.d. Dwayne spends his offseason at home with his wife and three dogs in Erlanger, Kentucky.
