The New York Mets have a pitching coach who's doing things differently this season after last year's epic collapse.
The New York Mets pitching staff basically fell apart last season, and the man charged with fixing it is new pitching coach Justin Willard. He’s not being shy about the different approach he’s taking, either, as new ace Freddy Peralta has already learned.
“He’s been on me all the time,” Peralta said in an article written by Tim Britton of The Athletic. “He’s on me because we’re working on getting the first pitch for a strike. That’s what I like, because I’m better when I have someone trying to drive me to get better.”
According to Britton, what Peralta has been doing with Willard nails both the method and the message being delivered by the new pitching coach. Willard wants to attack, and he’s also direct.
Willard learned his craft at the pro level with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox after coaching at Radford University. He’s replacing Jeremy Hefner, who was one of the most highly-regarded pitching coaches in the game, and Willard knows it didn’t take Hefner long to get a new job with the Atlanta Braves just days after being fired by the Mets.
“I like embracing challenge and fear,” Willard said. “When I reflect on my past growth, a lot of times it’s taking that jump off the deep end that has really pushed my career forward.
“This was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”
Willard is the Mets 20th pitching coach in their history, but he never played pro baseball. He also hasn’t been a full-time coach in the majors, having coached in the minors with the Twins before he became their minor league pitching coordinator in 2020, according to Britton. He also handled minor league pitching development for the Red Sox, so he’s had to do a little more to earn the trust of his pitchers.
That background can be problematic, but Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey endorsed Willard without hesitation.
“Whether or not you played, trust is gained with how you treat people,” said Andrew Bailey, Boston’s pitching coach who worked closely with Willard the last two years. “He’ll be fine there.”
Mets starter Sean Manaea described Willard as “direct,” which echoed another comment from Red Sox pitching prospect Connelly Early.
“When he comes in, it’s like a military sort of program that he has,” said Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early, who pitched at West Point for Army.
One of the goals Willard and the Mets have is to continue development at the big league level. That means teaching new tactics to pitchers like Peralta who have already had considerable success.
“Ultimately, it’s the ability to listen and really distill down what’s happening, what the player’s saying and thinking and understanding their point of view,” Willard said. “A lot of these guys have done it for a very long time at a really high level. What they’re seeing, what they’re experiencing is real. Understanding what they’re trying to direct you toward to help them solve whatever problem is what makes a great communicator at the major-league level.”
He’s also going after one of the Mets’ key problems that helped led to last year’s breakdown.
“If we look at the Mets over the last few years, it’s that inability to get ahead and stay ahead and drive the at-bat,” said Willard. “We’re trying to set that motto and intention from the get-go. Throw nasty stuff in the zone. When you’re starting in negative counts, it just makes your life that much harder.”