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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 12, 2018

Rocco Baldelli

Las Vegas, Nevada

Q. Did you see and hear comments from Bryon Buxton yesterday, how he felt when he was not brought up for September, how he was pissed off but he's not going to be a distraction and wants to prove that he deserves to start at centerfield?
ROCCO BALDELLI: So I didn't hear the comments, but just hearing what you say, I think that's more than okay. I think Byron has earned the right to express himself and let everyone know how he's feeling.

But more importantly, I think going forward I think he's ready from all the conversations that I've had with him to get out there and start fresh and play and get out there and have a great year.

I think he's focused on the future from everything that I've heard about him and getting that impression from talking to him, I think the focus is more in the future than on the past.

But anytime a player wants to express himself, I think that's always going to be a positive thing, because after saying how you feel, I think you feel better.

Q. How much contact have you had with him, and what are your plans for reaching out to him before Spring Training?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I've been in contact with him a couple of different times on the phone, some text messaging, but the plan is to go visit him in person and spend some time with him in person and have some real conversations with him.

Q. How many guys are actually going to visit in person with over this offseason?
ROCCO BALDELLI: A couple guys. I'm going to spend a little bit of time and go see guys in person. I think there's ways to connect with guys over the phone.

I think it's all about the individual. And having, doing everything we really can to get these guys in a good frame of mind ready to go. And kind of as prepared for the new staff coming in and new group coming in as well. If we can do that and get guys ready and feeling good coming into camp we'll do whatever we have to do.

Q. Do you feel you're able to convey a lot of that stuff -- what's the message been like doing this for the first time and reaching out to 25 different guys or 30 something guys?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, it's even more than 25 guys. It's trying to get in touch with as many of these guys as you can. And again like I said, it's probably different messages and different things that you would get into and want to talk about with each one of these guys, all their circumstances are different.

But talking to them a little bit about some different things maybe they can expect going into Spring Training. I think anything you can get ahead of with anyone, we're not just talking baseball, anytime you can give people a heads-up on what's happening, I know you like a good heads-up every once in a while, it always helps.

Q. Who else are you planning to go see?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I'm going to go see Miguel, spend a little time with him as well. And as of right now that's basically the plan for offseason travel and visits.

Q. Are you doing DR or going to do it when he's in Fort Myers?
ROCCO BALDELLI: The plan is DR.

Q. When you look at those two and the potential that they have, and you saw what they were able to do last year, obviously both were dinged up, how much of an untapped resource are they that you guys kind of have to draw it out of them?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I mean, forgetting last year. I mean, these are guys that I know -- I've seen these guys play for a long time. I've seen these guys play since they were teenagers and watched them grow from afar and have always been kind of enamored with them as players.

I don't know how you can't be. They have the kind of ability that catches your eye and kind of catches your imagination and they're the kind of guys -- they haven't just shown ability, they've shown the ability to use that ability out on the field.

And I see no reason why they shouldn't have long and prosperous careers, both of them.

Q. Last year, you had been this involved in game planning against the Twins. Were there things that you saw that you can use to help you make some of these players better?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Well, I would say that maybe. But I think it's more observation. I think it's the actual game planning is probably left to the specific coaches, pitching coaches, the hitting coaches. That was not necessarily something that I spent most of my time on.

But being pretty familiar with these guys, I think there are things that we will definitely talk about and address, getting into specifics I think right now is tough to do.

But the one thing I do feel is that this group is very open minded and from all the conversations that I've had, I think these guys, they're very open about saying that they want to get better. They want to spend time on different things, different parts of their game maybe that they haven't addressed before.

Q. What among probably many things has been the biggest adjustment for you going into this role?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I would say just after being in one place for so long, you gain -- you're in a very comfortable place when you're in that kind of situation, and just throwing yourself into an entirely different situation with new people, new experiences, new places, it's kind of invigorating in some ways. And also like a little bit like jumping off a very comfortable like safety ramp and into an entire different situation.

The one thing I can say is I've been helped and pretty much supported and given every resource since I've taken on this new role with the Twins. It started from the very top of the organization, and it's a very, very good feeling, because I don't know if that always happens like that. I don't know if it always works like that.

But I feel very good and the relationships that I've built in a short time with the people here make me feel pretty comfortable. And I don't think that's -- I've only been here a short time. But I feel really good about where I'm at, people that I'm with.

Q. I know the Rays were inclusive in soliciting opinions and things, but have you had a moment here yet where it dawned on you you were making the decisions and were in charge and people were coming to you saying what do you want to do?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, that's an adjustment. I do come from an organization that was a pretty collaborative group. I think the best possible way to go forward in the situation that I'm in, that I'm most comfortable handling things in this way, I like that idea.

I like the idea of bringing in as many different ideas as you can. You talk about it as a group, because that's why you have the group that you have. You have them because you respect everyone's opinion and you want the opinions.

The more opinions that you get, quality opinions you get from people, I think the better decisions you're going to make, and that's the environment that, like I said, I'm comfortable with and I'd love to go forward with here.

Q. What is your vision of what a Rocco Baldelli-managed team looks like on the field?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I would love our team to go out there and look like they're having fun and that they're relaxed and comfortable when they're playing.

That's a pretty -- I don't know how obvious it is to everyone when you are watching a game and guys are out there looking like they're out there enjoying themselves and having fun. I've said it many times, but I really do believe when guys can go out there and relax and be themselves, they'll play their best.

When you're comfortable, you play your best. If you're tense and you're locked up, I've not seen many people play well in that kind of environment. And I think we're going to get our best when these guys are they're freed up in every possible way -- on the field, off the field.

You have discipline, you do things the right way, you get your work in. But when you are out there, you find ways to have a good time with the people you're with.

Q. How would you describe the role of the Major League field coordinator over the duties that you did in that role?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Well, I would say that whoever is doing that role, it depends on the staff that you're working with and the players that you're working with and really who you are as a person.

There's no one way to do anything. Just like any role, any role we're looking at people do them in different ways, have different strengths. So my connection with the Rays from working as having a special assistant role and doing different things before I started coaching, I had a connection with the front office group and some of the things that we would do up there.

And that was something that I could have good conversations, I think, with everyone in the organization. I also think I was very comfortable and had known everyone there for a very long time. So you're able to really connect with different people in different ways.

And then also bringing it to the players, like anything that we're talking about here, if you don't have the ability to go to a player and have a good conversation with a player and bring an idea or bring a thought, none of it really matters if you can't really do that. I think that's actually one of the most important things is just being able to get to the players and have a good conversation with them.

Q. You were on the bench next to Cash or to Charlie and Cash, right, most games?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, in the new role I was on the bench. And I was at first base for the three years before that. But it was actually a really great experience for me being next to Charlie, being next to Kevin, being involved in those in-game conversations.

In addition, instead of just thinking about it on your own. When you have ideas that you can bounce off of people and talk through the game as it's happening, it's very helpful.

Q. Was there anybody you've been leaning on for advice as you go through this stuff the first time?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I have a lot of people that I talk to for advice in a lot of different ways. I've talked to Kevin several times. I've talked to Charlie regularly. I mean, there's probably a list of people that I could kind of run down.

But to save everyone from that -- it's important. I think tapping into the people that you respect that you think have done things the right way, it gives you a head start. And truthfully Shelty has been awesome and has helped me in a lot of different ways. And he's been a great connection between everything that the Twins have been doing and also drawing on his experience with Tampa Bay and Cleveland and Toronto as well.

But we're familiar and come from some similar places. So he's been great as well.

Q. Of the guys on your coaching staff, your relationship with Shelty, do you feel like you guys are kind of kindred spirits as far as how you shape a team and connect with players?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, I think we're on the same page in pretty much every way. We've connected. We have a history. We know each other very well. We know how each other thinks about things. And truthfully probably bring different things to the table which also will hopefully help us complement each other very well. He's been incredible -- like I said just now, when you leave an organization, you go to a new organization, there are a lot of unknowns. He fills in all those blanks for me. He's been great in that regard.

Q. Things you might bring from the Rays, specifically the opener idea, your players doing that and other strategic nuance things that the Rays did?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I think bringing those ideas over are important. But, again, like we call them ideas. We need to talk about them. We need to see how they apply to the roster that we have, the team, the general organizational philosophy that we have in a lot of different ways.

Some of those ideas I bet we'll see on the field. Some of them we'll I bet talk about them a lot and they don't end up out on the field. But the fact that we're talking about them and having this conversation, that's where everything else sprouts from.

So I think we're going to spend a lot of time going through a lot of those topics. We'll figure it out. I don't have all the answers right now as we sit here. But I think by Spring Training we'll start to see some of that stuff start popping up.

Q. Do you think the opener did work and will work for other teams or do you see more of it?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I would bet we'll see a good amount of it going forward. I don't know how -- on what level we're going to see it. I think a lot of it has to do with the personnel that you have. And I really do believe it's something that I've been talking about.

If you have a certain subset of pitchers that you think you can put out there in the first inning and let them start, I think that could work great.

I think if you have another subset, another group that you think would fit well and in the best possible way by opening someone for a inning or two then strategically bringing somebody in out of the bullpen for bulk innings, you can do that too. But it depends on who you have and what you want to do and the way the schedule lines up, a lot of different things. There's a lot that goes into this, not just we're going to throw so-and-so to start this game.

There's a ton to plan with. And I think it works with the on-field staff, the whole group talking to it, in addition to the front office talking through it.

Q. Your pitching coach is coming straight out of college. What are your impressions of him just from meeting and talking with him, and what do you think about that particular path to the majors?
ROCCO BALDELLI: It's definitely unique, but I think we have the right guy to do it. And he, Wes, has come highly recommended from every possible direction that we looked and talked to people from.

The conversations that we've had with him are very impressive. The fact that he's been doing a lot of his work -- I mean, a one-man show, I mean, when you're in college, you don't have the resources that a Major League Baseball team has.

He's been doing that, with him, or just the small group around him for a long time. In a lot of ways he's self-taught. He's gone through this entire journey and he's investigated a lot of different things on his own. He's curious, he's got great energy. He relates to players very, very well.

I think it's going to be a great fit. I'm really happy that he was willing to do it because he was in a great spot as well where there was a chance that he was very happy with what he was doing.

Q. What do you anticipate could be some of the challenges with him being accepted by the pitchers on your team?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I'm not really worried about that in any way. But I think Wes has been great about asking a lot of questions. I think he understands that this isn't something that he's done before, and that there are aspects of it, kind of like you mentioned, that he's going to want to tap into other people and see what they think about how maybe to approach things and how to talk with people. He's great with people. Spent a lot of time conversing with our pitchers already. And I think starting that early is important and I think he's done a great job of it.

Q. Are there any particular challenges you expect to face in this first year as a manager?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, there's a lot of them. Truthfully, anything -- when you jump in and you get involved in something that you haven't actually done before, I think those are challenges.

There's in-game stuff. There's this sitting with you guys right here. These are all part of a job I haven't done.

So I'm just trying to figure it out some of it as I go. Ask as many questions as I can. And truthfully having great people surround me that I can talk to tap into, just to have time with, that's helpful to me.

Q. When you look at the roster makeup, still inexperienced young club, how much impact could have a veteran had on some of those younger guys?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I think we've all seen, I know I've seen situations where you have a young group. You think maybe there are things that like a veteran presence, good player, veteran presence could bring to the table.

I think there's definitely value in that. But this is also a situation that I think I'm fairly comfortable with coming from Tampa Bay, working with a good young nucleus of guys.

I don't think there's one way to do it. I don't think you have to add experience or you have to go young. I think finding the right mix of people and players is important.

Spending time on that, just as much the people and the character and the work ethic of all these guys that you're thinking about bringing in, that's just as important as any experience that that player might have. And trying to find the guy that has all of that maybe could be a nice fit. But I don't see anything in black and white that we need to add.

The nucleus of the players, again, this is something that I think I'm familiar with and comfortable with working with young players. That's exciting to me. That's the fun part of showing up to the field watching guys improve.

You hope that it happens overnight. It rarely does, but watching guys over time, over the course of months or a season or two seasons progress as men and players, that's really cool.

Q. Derek Falvey talked about young players being in the process of becoming leaders and going into that role. Your history with the Rays, can you give us an example of a couple of guys you've watched how it happened organically, as far as being a young guy to learning the game to all of a sudden being kind of a leader, growing into that role?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, I think being a leader is kind of a misconstrued topic. And I think it's something that, we always looking for this vocal leader, senior presence.

Q. So many different ways?
ROCCO BALDELLI: Yeah, so many different ways that guys can lead, just come out and lead by example. Truthfully, being a leader is just showing up every day and setting a good example for everyone else.

You might even blend into the situation really well, but you treat people good. You compete every day, you go out there and you get your work in and you're consistent in your attitude and your work.

That's being a leader. You could look around -- there might be 15 guys that are leaders on a given team. It doesn't have to be the one guy that's the guy that speaks for the team and that's fine. If you have that guy, and it comes naturally to that particular player, I think that's great. I think that the player should take that role. But I actually think that most people should just try to be themselves and relax and just be pretty confident in the person they are and not try to be something that they're not. I think it works best that way. And on good teams that I've been around, you could look all around the diamond and not just point to one or two people. You could look all around the diamond there's a bunch of leaders on those teams.

Q. Twins fans expect to see the best players in the lineup the vast majority of the time -- or do you plan to have a rotation with guys that get a lot of rest?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I think that's an interesting question.

I think rest and recovery is a pretty important topic. We're going to compete and try to win every given game. But you definitely have to have a short and long-term approach when you're trying to put these lineups out there and when we're talking about what are our goals today and what are our end goals.

Yes, you're going to put the best possible team out there to win every game, but you're also going to do the possible thing for the individual player, too. And like I said, rest and recovery is important.

I think there were days you want competitive players. You want guys that want to be out on the field. You have respect for guys that want to be out there. That's real.

And I think it comes from the staff. I think it comes from your teammate, you want to be with a guy that wants to be out there and competing.

I also think that it's our job to look out for the players and do what's in their best interests as well and take care of them, because their bodies -- it's a long year and their bodies do get beat up. And I think it's our job to be the ones that say yes or no.

Q. Is there a mental component involved at all to the rest?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I would say for sure there certainly is. This is a very -- I shouldn't even say baseball. If you're doing any kind of demanding job, regardless of what it is, there's certainly a mental part of the situation that is a challenge.

When you go out there and maybe you're a position player and you only get a few at-bats a day to prove yourself. If it doesn't go well for a short period of time, I think mental things can manifest themselves physically in guys as time goes on.

I think taking care of guys upstairs as well as their bodies is very important.

Q. Even you went through as a player, do you think that gives you better ability to communicate with players, whether it's a young first-round pick, a guy coming back from injury, you kind of ran through this gamut of everything a player might go through. Do you think that gives you an ability to communicate with different types of players?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I hope so. I think it could. It gives you just everyone's life experience gives you better perspective as far as what's going on.

So, yeah, I think a big part of the job is dealing with the people on a day-to-day basis and getting the players in a great frame of mind. And I don't think it's all about -- I know the in-game stuff is extremely important and challenging at times, but I think the most important part of the job, at least in my opinion is making sure that people can come to the field and have a great environment to show up to and have a smile on their face and the conversations that you have and taking your experiences and sharing them, I think, are a big part of that.

Q. You're the only manager in the Major Leagues right now who was born in the '80s. How much of that is an advantage or disadvantage to you?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I think there's probably a good part on either half of that. I believe experience does matter. I think that there are huge positives to people that have gone through things in life and seen things and seen things on a baseball field that brings real value to the table. I also think that there's a lot of value in being able to relate to players in the best possible way.

And it doesn't mean that just because I'm young I'm definitely going to be able to do that, but I think there are things I've seen that are kind of fresh in my mind. And I really do think that there are things that will help me by being young and there are certain things that I'm going to have to learn from and there will be challenges associated with it, too.

Q. Is this something that you think about constantly, or just your focus on the core aspects of the job?
ROCCO BALDELLI: I think you think about everything. I think there are times where you spend time thinking about all aspects. Yes, there are things that take up the bulk of your time and energy. We talk a lot about players. We talk about our staff. We talk a lot about Spring Training. We spend a lot of time on different topics, but I think getting into the next-level type discussions and just general thoughts are important, because you do have to spend time thinking about them so you're prepared going forward.

Q. What went into your decision to hire Bill Evers?
ROCCO BALDELLI: A lot. I have great respect for Bill. Bill is a wonderful baseball person. I've known him for a long time. I have a comfort not only with him as a staff member but as a person. I think he's an asset. He's seen a ton. He's been in different organizations. He's also been in a fairly progressive organization in Tampa Bay and has a ton of experience doing many different things.

And I enjoy -- I enjoy his advice. He checks a lot of very, very important boxes that I think complement our staff well, and I enjoy the person as well. I think he'll relate to everyone and maybe bring a little something that other people maybe don't bring, because that's the goal. That's when you assemble the staff. You want the best possible person in each job, but you look at the whole and say this person complements the group very well. I think Bill does that. I think he's going to do a great job.

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