masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBy almost any standard, Dave Wallace’s first season as Orioles pitching coach was a real success. The Orioles’ 3.43 team ERA ranked third in the American League, behind only Seattle at 3.17 and Oakland at 3.22.
This was for a team that won 96 games, played for the American League pennant and tied for the second-best record in the majors.
The Orioles had four different starting pitchers (Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez) record 10 or more wins for the first time…

By almost any standard, Dave Wallace’s first season as Orioles pitching coach was a real success. The Orioles’ 3.43 team ERA ranked third in the American League, behind only Seattle at 3.17 and Oakland at 3.22.

This was for a team that won 96 games, played for the American League pennant and tied for the second-best record in the majors.

The Orioles had four different starting pitchers (Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez) record 10 or more wins for the first time since 1997. Norris (2.44 ERA in 13 starts) and Tillman (2.56 ERA in 18 starts) posted the two lowest single-season ERAs by Orioles starting pitchers with a minimum of five starts in Camden Yards history. The 2014 Orioles had three pitchers with 13 or more wins, equaling their total from the previous eight seasons combined.

IDaveWallaceSidebar.jpg recently conducted an in-depth interview with Wallace and you have read some of his thoughts and quotes here already. Here are more of my questions and Wallace’s answers from that interview.

Looking back, what are your thoughts on your first year as pitching coach?

“It was an absolute fun ride, just not knowing what to expect coming into the situation and not knowing the guys. The best part was watching how much they love to compete. The whole thing was, I don’t want to say I was surprised, but it is fun to look back on the season.

“I can think back to February in spring training and watching these guys throw and just not knowing what you would get. What you see in the spring sometimes doesn’t translate into the season.

“I think by about the middle or end of May, things started to kick in a bit. The guys competed their butts off and it was a pleasure to watch.”

You and bullpen coach Dom Chiti clearly got comfortable with the players and them with you. What was the key to building such a relationship with the staff?

“I’m not going to make light of it, but the understanding the players had. They are the ones that have to get it. They knew that Dom and I were out for nothing but their best interest and helping them get better.

“There was a genuine feeling that these guys knew they could trust us, and at the forefront of our mind was what we could do to help each guy get a little bit better. Didn’t matter where it came from.”

You and Dom really were a team, weren’t you?

“This guy knows so much about the game and especially pitching with a scouting and coaching background. A lot of times, what people didn’t see is we’d go behind closed doors and talk about something even before players were aware of things.

“About midseason, the players started busting our chops and stuff about us always being together. When that happens, you had a sense they were getting comfortable.

“That is why he was such an important hire. He’s a pitching coach, that’s what he is and he ran that bullpen better than you can imagine. He just has an innate understanding of so many things that go on.”

tillman-throws-grey-sidebar.jpgWhat are your thoughts on Tillman and his 2014 season?

“He had a couple of rough starts and what I like more than anything (is that) he can be getting rocked around in the first inning and not make it or he can be pitching a one-hit shutout into the seventh and you’d never know it by his expression on the mound.

“I think that speaks to his professionalism, his competitiveness and his respect for the game. I’m not sure I respect any pitcher I’ve had over the years as much. This guy has tremendous makeup. We hear that word all the time, but he’s a gamer and has that poker face during the course of a game.

“Not one time during the year did you hear Chris Tillman talk about next year or his contract or his career. Other than, ‘What is going on today and what is my routine?’ and getting ready for (his) next start, if it is his day to start, you leave him alone and he has his routine. It’s an absolute pleasure to have a guy like that.”

How can Kevin Gausman get better?

“He has made a whole lot of strides, but what I like about Kevin is he’s probably the most inquisitive of all the young guys. Almost every day when he is not pitching, he’ll ask questions on the bench. Very bright, very smart, very talented. Not satisfied with anything he does. He wants to get better. He wants to be real good.

“The thing that happens with most young pitchers is you get innings under your belt at the major league level and that is how you learn.”

How important is developing that slider as a third pitch for Gausman going forward?

“I’m not going to call it a slider, I’ll call it a breaking ball. Sometimes it’s a slider and sometimes a slurve. When he has those three pitches working, those are the games that are fun because he can go through almost any lineup.

“But on days that he doesn’t have either the changeup or breaking ball, we have to navigate our way to get to the sixth or seventh inning. I think that is the next step for him.

“He’s a bright guy and he knows that. But yes, his breaking ball can be more consistent. That is not that easy and sometimes it takes a couple of years for that happen.”

Looking ahead to year two, how do those relationships you built with the pitchers help for 2015?

“Obviously, you feel a lot more comfortable going into spring training. We’ve already talked about some things we’d like to do with some guys. Maybe you add a pitch, take away a pitch or tweak a delivery.

“But now we know the guys and they know us and there is trust from the get-go. There is a comfort level I think on both ends. Dom and I go into spring training much more aware of who the guys are and what we need to do to get better.”