Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> is crucial.<\/p>\n"If you see a base runner, especially late in the ballgame, come in against a relief pitcher and steal (on the) first pitch, it\u2019s because Tim has studied video (of that pitcher)," Siddall said.<\/p>\n
Before each series, Leiper will spend hours analyzing footage of opposing pitchers\u2019 deliveries and pickoff moves, searching out the slightest tendency \u2013 a shoulder shrug, a tilt toward home plate \u2013 that might reveal the pitcher\u2019s intention and allow runners to get a better jump.<\/p>\n
"You\u2019re always looking for those little intricacies of the game that can help, and Tim\u2019s very good at those things," Siddall said.<\/p>\n
Leiper told Canadian Baseball Network he loves all the homework that goes into being a good first base coach.<\/p>\n
"As first base coach you have to be a little more proactive. You\u2019re actually developing a play before it happens, whereas at third base you\u2019re reacting to the play as it does happen," he said.<\/p>\n
"For me the biggest thing is getting runners aware of situations \u2013 where defenders are playing, what might happen on this play. Just try to paint a picture before the pitch, so when the ball is hit there\u2019s no guessing."<\/p>\n
Once the batter reaches first, Leiper might remind him of the base-stealing plan they worked out during the pregame meeting, or pass along something he\u2019s noticed about the pitcher\u2019s pickoff move.<\/p>\n
"It\u2019s like a quick hit, and it just kind of refreshes their mind," Leiper said.<\/p>\n
"It\u2019s trying to take as much off the player\u2019s plate as possible, because they\u2019ve got to worry about hitting, got to worry about getting on base. So you just try to engage them as straight as you can."<\/p>\n
He added that veterans typically don\u2019t need many reminders, while rookies often appreciate the heads up. "You just gotta know the guy and the situation, and know how much or how little you have to give them."<\/p>\n
Siddall will often see Leiper with a stopwatch, timing the opposing pitcher.<\/p>\n
"We use 1.3 seconds as a magic number," Siddall said, explaining that if the pitcher can deliver the ball to home plate in that time or less, he\u2019s tough to steal on. If he takes longer, however, "a decent base-stealer has a pretty good chance."<\/p>\n
Leiper works as hard in the video room as players do in the weight room.<\/p>\n
"I have one job as a base-running coach, and that is to know as much as I can possibly know," he said. "So I religiously watch how (pitchers) move, what their reads are, what their tells are \u2013 anything that can gain us an advantage, it\u2019s up to me to know."<\/p>\n
Now in his third season as a major-league coach after 12 years playing in the minors and a slew of coaching and managing gigs, Leiper has accumulated quite the baseball IQ. The former outfielder also serves as Toronto\u2019s outfield coach, teaching players how to get into position before the pitch and read the ball off the bat.<\/p>\n
"You know what\u2019s going on. Having the benefit of being out there for every pitch of every game and seeing so many situations evolve, it\u2019s almost like you\u2019ve been there before," he said.<\/p>\n
Leiper started coaching professionally in the New York Mets organization in 1996 and went on to manage several minor-league teams, winning a Double-A championship with the Jacksonville Suns \u2013 a Florida Marlins affiliate \u2013 in 2010.<\/p>\n
He coached the Caribbean World Series-winning Venezuelan club Aguilas, and spent several winters playing and coaching in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
In 2013 the Blue Jays hired Leiper as senior advisor for the club\u2019s minor league operations, and he was made a major-league coach the following year \u2013 his first taste of the big leagues after three decades in baseball.<\/p>\n
No matter the level of competition, he says the coach\u2019s role is fundamentally the same.<\/p>\n
"It comes down to the relationships, the information," Leiper said. "You\u2019re trying to find a way to put a puzzle together and win a game, and that\u2019s the same no matter where you\u2019re at."<\/p>\n
That isn\u2019t to say the major leagues aren\u2019t unique.<\/p>\n
"It\u2019s much easier here," he said. "Randomness kills me. When you\u2019re in the minor leagues, playing a lot of different teams, it\u2019s super hard to prepare for them. There\u2019s a lot less chance up here, a lot more certainty about what guys are going to do. It just comes down to who can take advantage where advantage is given. And sometimes it\u2019s who just plays better."<\/p>\n
The 50-year-old California native started his Canadian baseball journey when in 1999 he was hired as the hitting coach for the Ottawa Lynx, the Montreal Expos Triple-A affiliate.<\/p>\n
He was promoted to manager a few years later and became enamoured of the nation\u2019s capital, spending his off-seasons there with his family.<\/p>\n
Ottawa is where Leiper first got involved with Baseball Canada, working with director of national teams Greg Hamilton to help the national team qualify for the 2004 Olympics.<\/p>\n
Leiper also coached Canada\u2019s 2006, 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic teams and won Pan-Am gold in 2011, as well as bronze medals at the 2008 and 2011 Baseball World Cup.<\/p>\n
He calls being part of the Baseball Canada program "the best thing I\u2019ve ever done."<\/p>\n
"I\u2019ve super enjoyed it. All the emotions that go into tournament baseball \u2013 every day\u2019s important, almost every game is like a Game 7," he said.<\/p>\n
"So when we were going through the playoff run last year (in Toronto), it truly prepared me for being able to slow it down and enjoy it too, and not being caught up in all the other craziness surrounding it. I was able to focus on the game."<\/p>\n
Leiper heartily endorses Baseball Canada as a training ground for future MLB players. <\/p>\n
"For young players, going through national championships or international tournaments is such a great learning experience," he said. "When they get here and hopefully get the chance to play in the playoffs or the World Series, they\u2019re prepared for it."<\/p>\n
Siddall witnesses the positive influence Leiper has on the Blue Jays \u2013 especially the younger players.<\/p>\n
"Experience is so critical," Siddall said. "On a bigger stage, where the stakes are higher and you\u2019re looking for every little edge that can help you, Tim\u2019s been there. And now he can use that experience and help them."<\/p>\n
While he loves preparing for each game as a coach, Leiper did admit to missing one element of being on the field, especially during Toronto\u2019s playoff run last season.<\/p>\n
"It\u2019s so much easier to play, because you directly control the game," he said with a smile.<\/p>\n
But, he quickly added, "I love seeing it through the players\u2019 eyes \u2013 to see the excitement. Knowing that I was a player once that wanted to be at that stage, and knowing how gratifying it is."<\/p>\n
That he plays a part in his team\u2019s success \u2013 and in his adoptive country to boot \u2013 makes the veteran coach and baseball lifer proud.<\/p>\n
This piece was originally published at the Canadian Baseball Network<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto Blue Jays first base coach Tim Leiper is playing a quiet but key role in the team’s success this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":463,"featured_media":2943453,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","disable_ec_suggest":"","writethru_meta":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2995],"class_list":["post-2943447","sn-article","type-sn-article","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","sports-baseball","leagues-mlb","importance-normal","teams-toronto-blue-jays"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sn-article\/2943447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sn-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sn-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/463"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sn-article\/2943447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2943467,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sn-article\/2943447\/revisions\/2943467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2943453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2943447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2943447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2943447"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2943447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}