EXCLUSIVE: Cubs’ Senior Pitching Coordinator Reveals Secret to Battling Superstars, Tips He Shares With Pitchers Facing Ohtani and Judge

The job at Major League Baseball is way more intricate than what appears on the surface. No, it’s not just the players at work, it is an entire staff that works behind the scenes to put together some of the best pitching-hitting performances. Thanks to the Chicago Cubs’ Senior Pitching Coordinator, Casey Jacobson who shed some light on an important point. A strategy that comes “down to trying to build the best”.

When one enters the major leagues, getting intimidated is quite inevitable. And that’s when the right strategy, when applied helps players meander through the moves of top guns – the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani to name a few. Jacobson shared some wonderful insights on how he chooses to make that happen in an exclusive interview with Essentially Sports. 

Casey Jacobson Answers How He Trains Players To Handle Tough Hitters

Well, first of all, building the best pitches is key. However, the underlying factors are maximizing the strengths of particular pitchers. There are characteristics such as how much their body can take, movement, velocity, and sharpness of the break which are factored in to build comfort around the pitchers’ strengths, Casey Jacobson shared. While one can build a solid pitcher with this, when it comes to execution, “location” becomes key. 

As a pitching coordinator one of his niches is to identify the loose ends. And Casey Jacobson identifies certain zone where folks like Judge and Ohtani don’t handle pitches well. The key is to match the pitchers’ strengths to the hitters’ areas of improvement. That said, it is still possible to face challenges and make mistakes. Jacobson’s approach with this regard is one that sits really well with his pitchers. 

He mentioned that constantly focusing on not making a mistake, makes one prone to make those mistakes. That’s the reason, the primary focus becomes to build the pitchers’ qualities to have conviction and confidence. Because once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, it’s out of his hand. Quite a mature take after all! 

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His Personal Methodology To Building Conviction and Confidence

Jacobson further stated that if they could execute the game plan as is, it would be possible to get the best version of the pitchers. That’s how, no matter whom the pitchers are pitching against, they overcome feeling feared or intimidated. That said, during one point in his exclusive interview, he said that he too felt intimidated once. The methodology he used to fit in better was one that everyone needs to learn from. 

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Jacobson focused on building connections and bonds in addition to just focusing on technical expertise. He shared that he would ensure to create a nurturing and comfortable environment for players making them more receptive to his perspective. After all, when one sees hard work and dedication, there’s respect. And when there’s respect, it does not take too long for that to turn into open communication which is a key to success. Isn’t that a valuable life lesson?