[Acee] Padres are “a lot more” committed to sharing information. It was something laid down by manager Mike Shildt and hitting coach Victor Rodriguez.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/08/28/as-team-surges-padres-hitters-help-each-other-in-real-time/

Some lines:

• Jake Cronenworth saw three sliders from Mets closer Edwin Diaz during his eight-pitch at-bat in the ninth inning Sunday.

• On his walk back to the dugout, Cronenworth slowed almost to a stop as he passed Jackson Merrill, who was coming to the plate.

• “The slider isn’t moving,” Cronenworth told him. “If he throws you one over the plate, it’s not going to break as much.”

• Diaz threw a slider that did not break very much and hung in the center of the strike zone. Merrill’s easy swing sent it 379 feet to right field for a walk-off home run.

• The Padres credit these real-time scouting reports as being a cornerstone principle for an offense that leads the major leagues in batting average and ranks in the top 10 in runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

• The reasons for their improvement are many. But what they say cannot be discounted is that exchanges like the one between Cronenworth and Merrill on Sunday have been occurring all season, with players stopping to talk to teammates coming to bat.

• Often, it’s the player coming from the batter’s box after striking out. Sometimes, it is a player jogging back by the on-deck area after scoring.

• Past Padres teams have done this. But they have never done it as often and with such intent.

• Peralta has been to the postseason with the Diamondbacks, Rays and Dodgers. He said the Padres are “a lot more” committed to sharing information this way than any team he has been on.

• It was something laid down by manager Mike Shildt and hitting coach Victor Rodriguez – both in their first year in their respective roles with the Padres – in spring training as crucial to the team’s success.

• Pregame work in the area of scouting opponents has increased and been fine-tuned exponentially over the years. Advance scouts, research and development analysts and coaches pore over video, arsenal and tendencies of opposing pitchers. Information is shared individually and in group meetings. Players watch pitchers on their iPads before and during games.

• “We give the report on the pitchers, but (hitters) are the ones facing them,” Rodriguez said. “And they can make some adjustments, and the pitches might look different than what we said. The communication about that is important . … First day, we touched on the importance of communication, the importance of not throwing anybody under the bus because we gave the wrong information. We’re going to give the wrong information because we’re not perfect as a hitting coach. But if they see something different (they can) help us help them.”

• The message might be that a pitcher’s velocity is down or up from the last time they faced him or that the curveball is biting more than it appeared on video or there is more sink or run than usual on a fastball and it seems faster or slower than the radar indicates.

• “You see the (video), you see something,” Solano said. “But (at the plate), it’s different. You see how nasty the pitcher is, or how good it is for us. We prepare better when another teammate comes to us and says, ‘Hey, this pitch looks like this’ or something like that. … Any aspect, any tip you can tell me, I am going to have an advantage. Even if a guy got a strikeout and he says, ‘Hey don’t swing at the slider even if you see it in the middle. You need to see it more inside.’ That is a help.”