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Rays legend and new Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was introduced to the Twins media on Thursday, and made an incredible first impression.
Here’s a couple tweets from that event:
Rocco Baldelli is officially introduced as the new manager of the @Twins pic.twitter.com/oeWKsZLYJZ
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) October 25, 2018
Rocco Baldelli: "Analytics is just a word. Really, all we're trying to do is put players in better position to succeed. It's a huge asset to have more information and the ability to use it. The info doesn't do anything in and of itself. It's having people who can use that info."
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 25, 2018
New #Twins manager Baldelli said it was "very, very emotional decision" to leave #Rays and "there were some tears involved" but end of day, "I am very, very excited and I know that I made the right decision. I'm a Twin. This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I believe that.''
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 25, 2018
I thought Rocco Baldelli came across well in the introductory press conference. He was emotional and seemed a little nervous initially, but gave thoughtful answers throughout, even to some negative-slanting questions. He also avoided relying heavily on buzzwords. Seemed genuine.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 25, 2018
Oh, and there was this:
Patrick Reusse asked Rocco Baldelli a question about The Opener and literally said "it's ruining baseball."
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 25, 2018
Baldelli paused, then zinged: "Open-mindedness seems like it would be an asset in any profession." That got a laugh. And then he went on to give a good, thoughtful answer.
For more Rocco, you can revisit my interview with him in 2015 here.
Meanwhile, Rays bench coach Charlie Montoyo has been named the Blue Jays manager. His introduction has not yet been scheduled.
Rays News
- Exactly zero Tampa Bay Rays received Gold Glove nominations, despite having multiple players perform well in defensive metrics last season. Kevin Kiermaier led American League center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved (14 DRS in 741.1 innings), Joey Wendle ranked fourth among AL second basemen (5 DRS in 771.1 innings), Carlos Gomez ranked fourth among AL right fielders (8 DRS in 798.2 innings), and, for what it’s worth, Blake Snell graded favorably as well (3 DRS in 180.2 innings).
- Rays VP of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom is one of two finalists for Mets GM (his competition is a baseball agent).
Sources: mets gm down to Brodie Van Wagenen and Chaim bloom
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 25, 2018
- Bloom declined to meet with the media after his interview, “out of respect for his current role” with the Rays:
Chaim Bloom, the vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, was back for his second interview yesterday for the Mets’ GM vacancy. He released the briefest of statements, compared to the other candidates: pic.twitter.com/MUfFOLmCVd
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) October 25, 2018
- Rosenthal: For the Mets, two candidates remain but one clear choice (Bloom)
- Meanwhile, nothing is imminent in the Giants search for their GM, which includes Bloom as a leading candidate.
It's lazy to portray Chaim Bloom as an analytics hardo. He came up through the Rays' administrative ranks. He has a background in player development. Yeah, he went to Yale, but his degree is in classics, not calculus. Smart guy. Baseball guy.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) October 25, 2018
- Rays helium prospect Moises Gomez is doing his thang down in Venezuela
#Rays prospect Moises Gomez hit 19 homers and drove in 82 runs for @BGHotRods in 2018. He went deep twice and collected three RBIs in Venezuelan Winter League play Thursday night. Gameday: https://t.co/meHW1Gw5el pic.twitter.com/JOD438PiXJ
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 26, 2018
- Oh and this is just fun:
This Rocco Baldelli news has me thinking about fellow Devil Rays legend Joey Gathright and that time he jumped over Hiroki Kuroda pic.twitter.com/9tItTiOSjp
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 25, 2018
Other links
- J.D. Martinez may sit out Game 3 of the World Series due to a sore right ankle.
- If the Red Sox DH does take the field, Fangraphs considers who should ride the bench for the NL home games. Also, you can buy FG mugs now.
- Marc Topkin on Andrew Friedman and the continuing “Rays way”
Stakes and stage are bigger with #Dodgers but Friedman still a lot of things the #Rays way. #WorldSeries #RedSox https://t.co/c9EnUS07Kr
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 26, 2018
- Read Mike Bates on Baldelli for Baseball Prospectus, and on Baseball Norms for The Hardball Times
- When longtime baseball folks arrive in the news, random articles get brought up from forever ago. If you dig a little, you can find the beginning of Montoyo’s coaching days in this article on Vlad Guerrero Sr. from 2013 where Montoyo is also at the same meal as the reporter and Vlad.
- And with that, I leave you with this story from 2015 on Montoyo: