What Matt Chapmanās mound visits tell us about his leadership
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As the first inning slipped away from his pitcher, Matt Chapman made a judgement call.
The Toronto Blue Jays third baseman asked for time and trotted over to the mound, greeting Alek Manoah, whoād just thrown six straight balls and loaded the bases with two outs.
āIt made me notice I had thrown six in a row,ā Manoah said after Thursdayās win. āAnd then it was kind of a good breather; let me regroup a little bit and get right back in the zone.ā
The pep talk was pivotal, as Manoah froze up White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal with a nasty full-count slider to escape the jam.
Charlie Montoyo mentioned Matt Chapmanās impromptu mound visit as a pivotal moment in Alek Manoahās bumpy first inning.
Rare to see a 3B do that these days ā and Manoah settled in after. #BlueJaysā Ethan Diamandas (@EthanDiamandas) June 2, 2022
Chapmanās game is full of leadership moments like that. Already revered as a motivator-type personality in the Blue Jaysā clubhouse, the 29-year-old is blessed with a unique sense of baseball awareness. The high baseball IQ makes Chapman one of the best defenders in baseball, but it also helps him get a good feel of when his teammates need help.
āIt's one of those things where I'm just in the game,ā Chapman said of his mound visits, āand that's my way of trying to help the team win. Little things like that.ā
The situation, Chapman said, had a lot to do with the decision to visit the mound.
āYou just have to read the room a little bit,ā he said. āBut there's been times I go over there and itās not like I say anything profound. Sometimes I barely even say anything, just give them a chance to catch their breath.ā
Chapman is plugged into every pitch, and if he sees the momentum shifting the wrong way, heāll be decisive and speak up. And those leadership duties extend beyond the occasional in-game mound visit. Chapman is a guy who keeps the morale high, even if the team is struggling.
āHe's been phenomenal,ā reliever Trent Thornton said of Chapman. āJust the same guy every day, making sure the guys are ready to go. That's the kind of teammate you want, always positive, always just picking guys up.ā
But leadership isnāt a uniform entity. It needs to bend and morph to cater to different types of people. Chapman recognizes that and approaches every pitcher differently during his mid-game chats.
āFor [Manoah], I mean, it's not like he needs a kick in the ass,ā Chapman said. āHe's up there; he's a bulldog every time he takes the mound.
āI'd rather go out there and the pitcher gets pissed off at me or something for coming out there after six pitches, than he walks another guy and give up big hit or something. I'd rather stop it before it starts.ā
The decision to interrupt a pitcher can be a delicate one. Chapman estimates heās visited Yusei Kikuchi on the mound once or twice this season, and now Manoah, but he couldnāt recall if heād done it for Kevin Gausman yet. And maybe that not a bad thing.
āI'm not the biggest fan of [position player mound visits],ā Gausman said. āBut that's just my personal opinion ⦠I like the thought process behind it. But if I'm pitching, I don't think Iād like that.ā
That hasnāt stopped teammates from doing it to him, though. Gausman remembered, during his time with the Baltimore Orioles, that Manny Machado had come to chat with him a few times. One time, Chris Davis, Baltimoreās hulking first baseman, trotted out to the mound to give Gausman some advice.
ā[Davis] actually did it to me against the Twins in Minnesota,ā Gausman said. āWe were up like 9-1 and I was having a grinding inning. And then he said something to me about like, āHey, you're gonna be a dude here for a long time. But, like, why don't you start right now?āā
Those motivating, yet slightly passive-aggressive, words of wisdom didnāt work.
āI ended up giving up, I think, all of the runs back,ā Gausman laughed.
Donāt get it wrong, though. Gausman loves having Chapman in the clubhouse and on defence behind him.
āHe's constantly talking,ā Gausman said. āThe third baseman is essentially like another shortstop. And the shortstop, to me, is like the quarterback of the defence.ā
Gausman compared Chapman to Evan Longoria, the 15-year veteran whom he shared the diamond with in San Francisco for two years. Gausman called Longoria āone of the best vocal third basemenā heād ever been around. According to Gausman, Longoria was so locked in that heād watch the catcherās signs closely from third base, often returning to the dugout after an inning and praising a starting pitcher for shaking to a pitch in a specific situation.
āSome guys are just on a whole ānother level,ā said the Blue Jays starting pitcher. āAnd Chappyās like that, too. He's always thinking one or two steps ahead.ā
Gausman said thereās one key element that has allowed Chapman to quickly rise to the rank of leader in Toronto.
āI think the biggest thing is respect,ā Gausman said. āEverybody respects his level of play, his level of defence, his level of athleticism, everything. So I think we all just really respected him when he got here. And then now getting to know him, we're like, āMan, this guy's awesome. He's great.ā"
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