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Andy Haines is still nervous when he enters Wrigley Field. He made them grow in the south of Illinois. He had them last year as assistant coach of the Cubs. And that feeling was evident when he entered the stadium for the first time as a Brewers coach on Friday.
"I think every time you get into Wrigley Field, it's a different kind of feeling," said Haines, who is in his first year with manager Craig Counsell's staff. "Last year, I lived within walking distance. You enter Wrigley, I do not know what is the right word, but you certainly have emotion in the building. It's a special place, it's unique. You get the same kind of nervousness and excitement and you see a lot of familiar faces. I would be lying if I did not say it would be special enough to be back.
In early November, Haines took the post of Brewers, leaving the Cubs after two seasons (he spent the year 2016 as coordinator of minor league strikes). The transition from one central team to another meant that he no longer changed the approach of players like Javier Báez, but also offered Haines the opportunity to work with another offensive unit charged, including MVP Christian Yelich. . And while their field styles are not identical, Haines, 42, sees a lot of similarities in both players' games.
"I think with Javy and Christian, you're dealing with guys with skills and tremendous talent," said Haines. "It's as if these guys were part of the elite, two of the best players in the Major League Baseball. They both care about good things and they look very much alike. Their perception would probably be very different from that of the fans, their behavior in the field, but strangely similar in terms of talent and abilities.
"And then at this level, when you combine that level of talent with the concern of the right things, you're just unstoppable.And that's what the two are at the present time." I think the The hardest thing to train is probably an elite player because they are so elite that when they relax a bit, it's harder to see. "
Haines worked in the Marlins' organization as a junior player coach and manager from 2008 to 2015. In his early days in the organization, one of the players he was responsible for overseeing the progress was a Yelich teenager. Their previous relationship made the meeting all the easier, with the star player informing Haines not to let go easily.
"We stay informed and that's what I told him at the beginning of the season. I told him – I want you to stay on my [butt], do not let me go careless, or if you think something is wrong or something starts to go wrong, tell me, "" Yelich says. That's the kind of guy he is and the kind of relationship I like to have. That's what I appreciate with Andy, it's been like that forever. He cares a lot and as a player you can enjoy this.
"When you have a new coach, it's not always like that because we know each other well, we know each other. He has known me since I was an 18 year old. There is some familiarity and a level of comfort that allowed us to dive immediately during spring training and get up to speed quickly. "
Although no scrum was reported in the cages, Haines appears to press the right button with the Brewers' offense, which ranks fifth in the NHL on points scored by entering Friday. Team OPS ranks sixth in the NL, its dropout rate is up more than 6% from last year and almost one percent.
Individually, Yelich is not the only player to benefit from Haines' tactics. Fieldman Mike Moustakas had a fast start this year, with a 100-point slugging percentage better than 2018. The veteran appreciated Haines' pragmatic approach and believes he made a difference.
"I like Andy, Andy is amazing. Moustakas said, "He just gave me a clear idea of what made me fight and all that. "As for the striking coach, you must individualize each person, you can not be a cookie cutter. I hit different from [Yelich], I hit different from [Lorenzo Cain]And what Andy does well is that he finds what works best for you and works with it. "
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