Savannah Sand Gnats pitching coach Frank Viola has decades of professional baseball knowledge to share with the pitching staff.
Players would be wise to learn from Viola, the World Series MVP in 1987 and American League Cy Young Award winner in 1988 — before nearly all of them were born.
“Here in Savannah, we have a young staff. Most of the kids are between 19 and 22,” said Viola, who turns 53 on April 19. “I’m like the father/grandfather figure right now.”
And this parental figure knows what’s best for his kids. So does Luis Rojas, manager of the Sand Gnats, the New York Mets’ affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League.
Today is Opening Day when the Gnats host the Rome Braves at Grayson Stadium at 6:35 p.m., but it’s only the first game of 140 on the schedule. Rojas and his staff have a message to be repeated throughout the long, hot summer unavoidably to come.
“The main thing is to stay fresh physically and mentally because there are going to be ups and downs,” Rojas said. “I tell them, in life there are ups and downs but you’ve still got to go. The clock is ticking, and there’s a task at hand right now.
“We’re getting them ready mentally to know what’s going to happen in this 140-game season,” he continued, “but this is just their first test to see what they have, looking ahead to the big leagues to a 162-game season.”
Big league dreamers
The possibility of reaching the major leagues, whether with the parent club in New York or another franchise, is still years away for these players. Nearly all of the 2013 Sand Gnats — most of whom played last year for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A short-season (76 games) New York-Penn League — have not experienced anything close to the challenge of a full slate of games, day in, day out, over five months.
Words of wisdom don’t have to come from coaches. Here’s the advice of outfielder Greg Pron, a seasoned 24 years old, who spent all of the 2012 campaign with Savannah.
“It’s important to take it one day at a time here,” Pron said. “It’s a long season. A lot of these guys haven’t played a full season before. It’s a grind.”
Pron, who was in their shoes a year ago at this time, is one of three players with Savannah experience — the others being infielders Yucarybert De La Cruz (54 games) and Cole Frenzel (47).
“They know about how the weather gets here, how long the bus rides are,” Rojas said.
His staff, including Viola, batting coach Joel Fuentes, athletic trainer Tom Truedson and strength and conditioning coach Jason Griffin, have developed routines for combating the grind.
The pitching staff — 12 right-handers and one left-hander (Steven Matz) — is totally new to the wonders of a summer in the South Atlantic League.
Six-man rotation helps
Implementing a six-man rotation, rather than five, can allow pitchers to get in their prescribed innings and, the hope is, endure the season to the end without added wear and tear.
At some point in the season, they might feel tired and look at the schedule and realize it’s only July.
“They have absolutely no idea of what they’re getting themselves in for as far as a 140-game schedule,” Viola said of the April-to-September slate.
“Everybody hits a wall the first time in a full season. It’ll be interesting to see how each individual pitcher goes through that wall.”
Viola believes his biggest attribute as a pitching coach is teaching the mental side of the game — including getting through that wall.
“If I don’t do my job, then shame on me,” he said.
He will talk to them about game preparation and postgame routines, about life on the road and rooming with several teammates at home. Success comes in the details.
“It’s all the stuff that mom and dad aren’t here for them,” Viola said.
“They’ve got to do this on their own. On top of that, they’re rooming with each other. They like the video games, this, that and the other. They can’t be staying up to 5, 6 in the morning and expect to get the job done.”
The key word here is job. They are professionals and need to act like them, Viola said.
“They’re getting paid right now and it’s a business for them,” he said.
GNATS’ STARTING LINEUP
Tentative starting lineup today for the Sand Gnats in their season opener at home against the Rome Braves:
C—Kevin Plawecki
1B—Jayce Boyd
2B—Chad Zurcher
3B—Cole Frenzel
SS—Phillip Evans
LF—Stefan Sabol
CF—Brandon Nimmo
RF—Eudy Pina
DH—Greg Pron
P—Matt Bowman
ON THE WEB
Sand Gnats manager Luis Rojas talks about dealing with the heat and insects in Savannah at savannahnow.com/sports