The man who led the Yankees’ pitching staff through the seesaws of this truncated regular season, and who will soon guide them into a unique postseason, never played professional baseball. The highest level he reached was pitching for the College of the Holy Cross. His earned run average over four years there: 6.54.

His degree is in psychology and philosophy. His first foray into learning about the intricacies of the body’s movement came from online forums, books and DVDs.

Before Matt Blake became a self-taught pitching instructor just over a decade ago, he was a salesman for a marketing company in his hometown, Concord, N.H. As recently as five years ago, he was coaching high school baseball, and now he is the Yankees’ pitching coach.

“It’s for the better,” Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino said of Blake’s background.

Baseball can be a slow-moving, ritualistic sport. Things are done a certain way because they always have. In recent years, though, some of the most innovative work in the sport has come from outside the professional ranks, so clubs have snatched up coaches from colleges and private training facilities, like Driveline Baseball or Cressey Sports Performance.

Source: New York Times

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