Q&A: Jim Wright, Colorado Rockies Pitching Coach
July 26, 2013
http://ppt.cc/tu3X
It isn’t easy being the pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies. The reasons
are multitudinous, and well-known to fans and physicists alike. Coors Field
is simply not conducive to suppressing offense.
要在落磯隊的擔任投手教練不是一件容易的事。
理由非常的多，而且在球迷與物理學家之間都一樣的廣為人知。
酷兒斯球場就是對於壓制打者非常不利。
Jim Wright is currently entrusted with helping Rockies hurlers succeed in
that hitter-friendly environment. He can’t do anything about the effect of
altitude on batted and thrown baseballs, but he can help his
mostly-inexperienced staff approach the challenges in a productive manner.
Jim Wright最近被委任要幫助洛磯投手們在這打者天堂生存。
他對於高海拔在球上造成的效應束手無策，但他可以用比較有效率的方法來幫助這群
缺乏經驗的投手面對挑戰。
Wright, who pitched for the Royals in 1981-1982, has previously served as a
minor-league pitching coach, roving pitching coordinator, and bullpen coach.
This is his 17th season in the Rockies organization.
曾在1981-1982年間曾為皇家隊投球，Wright在洛磯球團的17年間曾擔任小聯盟的
投手教練，roving pitching coordinator，以及牛棚教練
P.S. 找不到roving pitching coordinator的定義，有神人板友知道要怎麼翻嗎XD
——
Wright on his pitching philosophy: “My philosophy — our philosophy — is
dedicated to getting people out. What we consider our identity — what we
like to see out of a Rockies pitcher — is to throw strikes, keep the ball
down, keep the ball on the ground, hold runners on first base, and deliver
the ball in a timely fashion. That’s our philosophy; that’s what we want
out of them.
“There are many descriptive terms I could use, but I want them to reflect
the attitude of their pitching coach, too. While I’m in this position, that
is to pitch inside, be aggressive, pitch to win — learn how to pitch to win
— and never have any fear, or any excuses, about anything. I want fearless
competitors, knowledgeable competitors. At this level, intestinal fortitude
has to be a given, so you have a chance to learn.”
談到投球哲學：「我的哲學─我們的哲學─就是致力於讓打者出局。當考慮到我們的
身分─我們想從一位洛磯投手身上看到的─就是把球投進好球帶，把球路壓低，把球
留在場內，讓跑者止於一壘，用最符合現代的方式投球。那就是我們的投球哲學，就
是我們想從他們身上看到的。」
「有非常多的術語可以描述，但我想從他們身上看到他們投教的態度。當我擔任投教
，把球投進去，展現積極，為贏而投─學習如何為贏球而投球─然後無所畏懼，不找
藉口。我想要的是無畏的競爭者，專業知識充足的競爭者。在這個層級，膽子是必備
的，如此才有機會學習。」
On innings and experience: “I think a lot of pitchers today are… I don’t
know if prematurely is the right word, but they’re here sooner than they
should be. Normally, you’d like to see a guy get 500-700 innings in the
minor leagues, and they’re getting maybe 300.
“I don’t want to stall a guy’s career either, but pitchers need to have
some sense of baseball pitchability. It’s not scholarly knowledge, but it is
pitching wisdom. That comes through logging innings and the experience of
being out there, start after start after start. They need some level of
intelligence as a starting pitcher.”
談到投球局數與經驗：「我認為現今很多的投手....我不知道用過早來描述是不是
正確的，但他們真的給我一種揠苗助長的感覺。一般來說，你會看到投手在小聯盟
投大約500-700局，但他們似乎都只投了300左右。」
「我也不想去阻擋人家的生涯，但投手對於pitchability需要有一點感覺才行。這
不是學術知識，但這(pitchability)是一種投球的智慧。那是來自於局數的累積，
以及上場的經驗累積，先發接著先發再接著先發。他們需要一些身為先發投手該有
的智慧」
On pitching at Coors Field: “Mental toughness has to be there to pitch in
Denver, because there are certain things that might show up. Your sinker may
cut a little bit instead of sink, or your breaking ball may not have the same
bite. You have to figure out ways to pitch around those parameters of your
repertoire. The main thing is to be really good at pitching down in the
strike zone. That works anywhere, but getting ground balls in our ballpark is
the key to success.
談到在酷兒斯投球：「在丹佛投球，心理素質強韌是必備的，因為在那裏有些事情會
發生。你的伸卡球可能會多偏移一點而非下沉，你的變化球也有可能威力驟減。你必須
要在這些因子環繞之下找出投球的方法。最主要是你必須擅長把球壓底在好球帶的下緣
，那在任何地方都有用，但是滾地球才是在酷兒斯成功的唯一解。」
“It’s a different type of mindset as far as attacking a hitter; you’re
attacking down versus in-and-out, up-and-down. I mean, there are places for
that, and times for that, but as a general rule, I want these guys to learn
to pitch down in the zone. And to do that, they have to pitch to the catcher
and not to the hitter. If you pitch to the hitter, you’re going to pitch up
in the zone.
“We see a big difference when we come here with guys — with their movement,
the bite on their breaking ball and the consistency of the rotation. It’s
different. That’s an adjustment for them, but they’re pros, so they should
be able to adjust.”
「這跟對付打者是不一樣的心態，把球壓低相對於攻擊內外角、上下緣。我的意思是，在
某些時地上可以這麼作，但一般來說我會希望他們學著把球壓在好球帶下緣。要做到這件
事，他們必須把球投向捕手，而非打者，當你試著把球投向打者，球路自然就會偏高。」
「來到這裡時可以看到很明顯的不同─他們的動作，變化球的威力，以及輪值群的穩定度
。因為不同，他們必須做修正，他們是職業選手，所以必須要有能力去做修正。」
On if Rockies pitchers should pitch differently on the road than they do at
home: “No, they shouldn’t. I think that once you buy into the down… if you
asked me, when I pitched, “How do you pitch?’, I pitched in-and-out, but
always down, and then up when I wanted to. And I think in the past — because
of Denver and our venue — they’ve focused on being down in the zone, but
then they get on the road and see their better stuff, and they want to throw
instead of still pitch down. You have to pitch the same, no matter where you
go. Our ground-ball ratio should to be similar at home and on the road; it
shouldn’t be one good and one bad. That’s what happened with us last year.
We want that same attitude and same approach of keeping the ball down in the
zone.”
談到洛磯投手客場時必須用與主場時不同的策略投球：「不，他們不需要改變什麼。
我認為你一但開始把球壓低....如果你在我投球時問我是怎麼投球，我會說：『攻擊打者
內角外角，只是把球壓低，然後在我想要的時候把球投進上緣。』我認為在過去─因為
丹佛以及我們的球場，他們必須專注於把球壓低，但客場時他們發現自己有更好的Stuff
，然後他們就想用壓低球路以外的策略投球。無論在哪你都不能改變投球的策略，我們的
滾地球比例在客場時應該要跟在主場時相同，不能有差別，這就是去年發生在我們身上的
事，我們想要相同的態度，以及相同的方法─把球壓低─這種投球策略。」
On pitch movement at Coors: “A slider doesn’t have the same bite here. At
times it does, but there’s more bite on the road in a more humid
environment. The sinker doesn’t sink as sharp. So I’d say, basically the
sharpness of the movement is not the same in Denver as it is on the road. You
’ll find a lot of guys that pitch against us come in and try some breaking
balls, and they’re not working. so they go to a lot of changeups —
fastballs and changeup. That’s another one of our absolutes, the changeup
percentage we have.
談到酷兒斯球場的球路位移：「滑球在這裡的幅度會不同，儘管有時候相同，但在客場時
，濕度較高的環境會讓滑球有更大的幅度。伸卡球在這裡也會不盡犀利。所以我會說，
基本上在丹佛，球的位移、犀利程度跟在客場時並不相同。你可以發現很多投手上山對付
我們時，會試著投一些變化球，但那無用武之地。所以他們會試著投很多變速球，直球搭
配變速。變速球使用的比例也是我們的堅持。」
“Cutters aren‘t impacted as much as sliders, but it’s not a pitch we teach
initially. It’s a little tough on the arm. I think sliders and cutters are
in general. The concern is that the extra pronation, to the side of the ball,
can affect an elbow if it’s not thrown properly, or if you’re gripping it
too tight. But it’s something we’ll add to the repertoire if it’s needed,
maybe later on when their arms are developed and their delivery is sound
enough.”
「卡特球被影響不如滑球，但那不會是我們最初教授的球種，那對手臂會有負擔。我認為
滑球與卡特球一樣，如果投球的方式不正確，或是把球握的過緊了，那麼額外施在球上的
旋轉(意指扣球)會影響手肘的健康。但有需要時我們也會把他加進投手的技能裡，可能在
他們的手臂更健壯以及他們的投球機制夠好了之後。」
On mechanics and focus: “My view on mechanics is that they’re important for
health. But in general, when his foot lands and his arm is in position to
throw the ball, I’m not going to mess with him much. The last thing I want
my pitchers to be dependent upon is their mechanics. The more you have your
thoughts around yourself, and not where the catcher is… it’s pretty hard to
switch them.
談到投球機制以及專注：「我對於投球機制的觀點是，這對於投手的健康是很重要的。
一般來說，當他的腳著地、手臂已經準備投出時，我是不會去影響他太多的。我想要我
的投手去依賴的最後一件事就是投球機制。當你放越多心思在自己身上，而非在捕手的
所在時，那就越難去改變他們。」
“Learn to trust your eyes and your hand. Develop a level of concentration
that’s a higher standard and focus. I believe concentration is a learned
habit. I’ll have drills where I’ll put a target down, with no catcher, and
have them throw at it. It’s kind of like in the circus when you’re trying
to knock the bottles down, or you’re trying to dunk the person in the water
tank. You want be able to focus on something and throw at it without thinking
about how to do it.
「學著相信自己的手與眼，養成一定程度的專注力。我相信專心是一種後天的習慣，我
會給投手們練習，把目標放在下方，讓他們在沒人接補時把球投到那個目標上。這就像
在馬戲團裡，當你試著把瓶子打下來，或是試著把人灌進水缸裡。你想要有能力去專注
而且可以不假思索的把他丟向目標。」
“These guys are in their twenties and thirties, and have been throwing a
baseball since they were 10 years old. Most of these guys had pretty good
rhythm and deliveries, and got signed without thinking about that stuff. Then
they got to pro ball and were taught so much about deliveries that they kind
of lost focus on how to compete to the target.
「這些人都是20到30多歲，而且大概在10歲時就開始投球。他們大多都有非常好的投球
節奏還有姿勢，而且都是在忽略stuff的情況下被簽來。然後他們進到職業棒球，開始被
大量教授有關投球姿勢，使得他們失去對於投球時目標的專注」
“Mechanics are important to keep the guy healthy, and there are certain
things they do, but I’ll pay more attention to their focus, how they’re
competing in the game, and how they’re pitching to a batter — you know,
have they changed the sequence? I’ll look at the film, and if he’s getting
hit, and 99% of the time he’s not hitting his target… you know, once he
starts hitting his target, and he’s still getting hit, now we’re going to
look at his sequences. When the sequences are changed, now I’ll look at his
mechanics to see if he’s tipping pitches, or something like that.”
「投球機制對於保持健康是很重要的，他們做了很多事，但我會把重心放在他們的專注度
上，他們如何在比賽中競爭，如何把球投向打者─你知道的，他們是否改變了投球的順序
(意指抬腿，前傾，扭腰等步驟)？我會去看影片，如果他被擊出安打，那99%是因為他沒有
投到他的目標。你知道的，一旦他們把球投到目標卻還是挨打，那我們就要去看看他的投
球順序。當順序被改變時，我們就要看看他的機制是否洩漏了信息給打者。」
On video and reports: “We’ve invested a lot of finances in our video; we’
ve got state-of-the-art equipment. It’s very good, at times, to go back if a
guy has gotten into bad habits. We can take video and put [them] side by side
to see when he was throwing low, and when he wasn’t, and see if there are
any mechanical discrepancies. Maybe it’s something subtle. We can pick up
through video what maybe your naked eye can’t see. I’ll use it to find out
if their arm is on time. And for scouting purposes, it’s huge. But here
again, it’s a tool that’s good as long as it’s not overused. You can
overuse video.
談到影片及報告：「我們在錄影上投資了許多，有著許多最先進的設備。超棒的，如果
有人染上了不好的習慣就可以回去看。把他錄下來，然後放在一起做比較，看他何時有
把球壓低，何時沒有，然後看看機制上有沒有不一致之處。或許有一些細微之處我們無
法用雙眼觀察到，卻可以透過影片挑出來。我會利用影帶來觀察他們的手臂是否有跟上
。此外對於scouting來說更為重要。但必須重申一次，你有可能過度依賴錄影，他只有
在非過度使用的狀況之下才是一項好工具。」
“With reports… let’s say were looking at how [an opposing hitter] has been
hitting sliders. The reports are grouping in a lot of different types of
sliders. It may be that the guy isn’t hitting the good ones, or even the
more average sliders, he’s mostly hitting below-average sliders.
「有了報告....好比說可以看對方是怎麼攻擊滑球，報告集結了許多顆不同的滑球，可
能是打者沒打中的好球，或是比較一般的，以及大多被他擊中那些低標品質的滑球。」
“In general, the more you can focus on making your pitch — then you just
have to find out if your stuff is good enough in the zone, or if you have to
maybe go out of the zone a little bit with your strikes. Or do you need to
pitch in a bit more, to open up away? Scouting reports are good, and I used
them when I pitched, but once I went out there, sometimes I saw I could get a
hitter out a different way. It’s important to understand that reports are a
foundation to go of off, and then you build from that.”
「一般來說，你越能專注在你的投球上，然後你就只需要去看看你的stuff是否夠好，或
是你需要把好球投在好球帶外側一些，或是你需要投內角一點、投開一點？球探報告很棒
，我以前投球時也會利用它們，但當我上場時，我發現有時候我可以用不同的方法讓打者
出局。了解報告是一切基石是件重要的事，然後你就能以這個基礎來發展自己的能力。」