Latest news with #ChrisWoodward
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mookie Betts solidified himself at shortstop. Now he's helping other Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — A night after committing his ninth error of the season, Max Muncy went back to work with a Gold Glover behind him. The Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman's mentor for the day was an interesting one. Mookie Betts' six Gold Gloves came in the outfield, where he was a singular presence as the best right fielder in the sport. Betts spent his winter focusing on an unprecedented move to shortstop in his 30s. It's worked for Betts, who has graded out positively in just about every public metric, along with the eyes of team brass. Unlike a year ago, manager Dave Roberts said he doesn't foresee a situation where the Dodgers ask Betts to move off the position come October. Advertisement Betts' progress at the position has gone so well that he's even working with Muncy on the finer points of his defense. Take Wednesday, as infield coach Chris Woodward chopped Muncy ground ball after ground ball to recreate the funky hop that a Starling Marte ground ball took in the fifth inning of Tuesday's win over the Mets. Standing behind Muncy for each ground ball was Betts. Between reps, Betts reinforced the finer points of attacking the baseball, rather than playing the hop cautiously and having it bounce unpredictably. At the end of the session, the three huddled. Woodward heard the same principles he echoed to Betts this winter being echoed from Betts to Muncy. 'He's obviously learned a lot,' Woodward said. 'He's very knowledgeable about how to attack ground balls. A lot of the stuff that I was telling Max, he's obviously reassuring him in the same way.' The ground balls that Betts gets at shortstop are different from Muncy's at third. The hops vary. Muncy has to react much quicker. But the principles of the exercise are the same, hammered home to Betts through a winter of reps with Woodward, video coordinator Pedro Montero and former All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. So Betts decided to help. 'Mook wants to win,' Muncy said. 'He wants to win more than anything.' If it looked uncommon, that's because it was. As much as Miguel Rojas was a veteran presence helping Betts' transition to shortstop the last two seasons, much of Rojas' heft came from experience. Betts is still gathering that. While third base may not be Muncy's natural infield spot, he's played nearly double the amount of games at that specific spot as Betts has played in the infield entirely as a big leaguer. Still, the two had taken ground balls together dating back to when the Dodgers' position player group reported early to spring training in Arizona. He's seen Muncy go about his work. Max Muncy has been working on his defense with the coaches and Mookie Betts. — Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 4, 2025 More than anything, Betts said, he felt like he went through the same thing with his crash course at the position last season. He has faith in what he's learned and now wants to be a missionary in spreading that message. 'I've been there,' Betts said. 'I know what it feels like. I know what it's like to be in a tough spot. … He has way more experience than me, but this offseason, I learned a lot. I really feel like mentally — I have to go out there and do it — but mentally, I really know what I'm doing. I know exactly what I'm doing. Know exactly what it's supposed to look like. I know exactly what you're supposed to do. And I can teach him. I really can teach him.' Advertisement Betts rallied from that abandoned experiment from last year and remade his defensive work. He's graded out positively by Defensive Runs Saved (2) according to Baseball Info Solutions and Outs Above Average (3) according to Baseball Savant. He looks like a shortstop, Roberts said, which is as good a compliment as any. 'He knows that he has to play well at shortstop,' Woodward said. 'He's said it, 'I'm not going to play there if I can't be a reliable everyday shortstop that can win a World Series.' He's worked his way up to that. He's still got a lot of ways to go. He's playing well, but he still knows he has to maintain it.' His confidence in trying to instruct Muncy is a testament to the strides Betts has made at the position and his aptitude for the mental side of the sport. This is also just who Betts is. When Andy Pages' early-season defensive struggles in the outfield percolated with a poor read on a Bryce Harper double in Philadelphia in early April, Betts huddled Pages and Teoscar Hernández into a corner of the visiting clubhouse and talked through the mechanics of the play and how Betts would have gone about getting a good jump. 'It's just one of those things where everyone leads in their own way,' Muncy said. 'This is how he leads. He tries to make guys better on the field. Some guys are better at leading in the clubhouse. Some guys are better at leading off the field. Some guys are better at leading on the field. This is one of the things that he excels at. He's so good at making everyone else around him better because he's always trying to spread the knowledge that he has.' Muncy's defense has been a sticking point for the Dodgers. Even as his bat has rebounded from the biggest power drought of his career to start the season, the 34-year-old's defensive struggles have mounted. Only three players — Manny Machado, Willy Adames and Elly De La Cruz — have committed more errors. He's been worth -8 OAA at third base, according to Statcast. Only Kansas City's Jonathan India has graded worse at the position. So Muncy has gone to work, with Betts alongside him. Advertisement Together they've sought out 'the little wins,' Betts said. Like Wednesday, when Marte again chopped a ball in Muncy's direction. The third baseman had a good first step toward the ball and attacked it, using the same finishing motion that Betts had repeated behind him earlier that afternoon. Muncy fielded it cleanly and got the out. 'Nobody cheers when Muncy makes a nice play that really is a nice play, but to you guys it just looks like a play,' Betts said. 'But I know the depth and the detail that goes into it. That's what kind of gets me fired up.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers coach Chris Woodward is 'proud' of Rangers managerial stint, despite 2022 firing
Chris Woodward doesn't have any hard feelings toward the Texas Rangers. Just some awkward ones about being back this week. 'I don't know if I'm looking forward to it,' the Dodgers first base coach said with an uncertain chuckle on Wednesday, ahead of his first return trip to Arlington since his time as Rangers manager ended with a midseason firing in 2022. Advertisement 'I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people … just the whole staff, the assistant trainers, just people I haven't seen,' he added. 'But I don't know if it's something that's on my bucket list to go back and do.' Such conflicting emotions mirror the way Woodward reflects on his Rangers tenure at large — a four-season stint with what was then a rebuilding ball club that taught Woodward much, but ended on a sour note. Read more: Shohei Ohtani is back on a 40/40 pace. But can Dodgers give him more RBI opportunities? 'I don't have any regrets or any bad feelings toward anything,' he said. 'Obviously, there were some disagreements that led to me not being there anymore. But I have nothing but respect for everybody. I don't hold a grudge. Life's too short, man. Honestly, I take that experience as a really positive thing.' Advertisement Originally hired by the Rangers in November 2018, after serving as the third-base coach on back-to-back pennant-winning Dodgers teams, Woodward's first season in charge in Texas began with promise. Joey Gallo and Hunter Pence led the offense as All-Star selections. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn anchored a veteran core of pitchers. In late June, the Rangers were 10 games over .500, far outpacing modest preseason expectations. But then, the vagaries of baseball set in. Gallo and Pence both suffered season-ending injuries. The pitching staff began to crumble beneath a lack of reliable depth. What had started as a 'decent' year, Woodward said, ended with the Rangers limping to 78 wins. Advertisement And after fading following a 10-9 start in 2020, the Rangers never had a winning record under Woodward again. Instead, Texas entered a rebuild, giving Woodward's job a much more developmentally focused bent. Behind the scenes, the organization created entirely new personnel departments, reimagined player development processes and administered ever-changing responsibilities to members of the coaching staff. Woodward had a hand in every bucket, trying to establish everything from hitting style to base-running technique to a roster-wide focus on all-around fundamentals. Compared to a fully-fledged contender like the Dodgers, it almost felt like building from the ground up. Advertisement 'Here [with the Dodgers], it's such a well-oiled machine. Yeah, we make little adjustments to things here and there, but no major changes,' Woodward said. In Texas, on the other hand, 'we added a lot of resources and a lot of things while I was there, which was necessary. Because we had to get caught up to 'championship standards,' is what I called it.' Chris Woodward managed the Texas Rangers from 2019 until he was fired in Aug. 2022 with one year remaining on his contract. (LM Otero / Associated Press) 'When everything's a blank canvas,' he added, 'it's not as easy as people think.' The losses along the way were difficult (the Rangers were 133-203 over Woodward's final three seasons, finishing in last place twice). The firesale trades of team stalwarts like Gallo and Lynn were 'probably one of the harder things to deal with,' Woodward recalled. Advertisement And when the Rangers failed to take a step forward in 2022, despite their marquee free-agent signings of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager (the ex-Dodgers shortstop whom Woodward helped woo to Texas) the previous offseason, discontent among the club reached a boiling point. In an unexpected move, Woodward was fired on Aug. 15, 2022, with a year remaining on his contract. 'I tell a lot of the staff here that's never managed, 'Each year, you feel like you've aged five,'' said Woodward, who returned to the Dodgers in a special advisor role the following winter, before rejoining the on-field staff this year as first-base coach following Clayton McCullough's hiring by the Miami Marlins. 'It's kind of like being president, in a way,' the 48-year-old Woodward added. 'You see guys age right before your eyes.' Advertisement But through those trials — which also included the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Rangers' move into a new stadium during an era of social distancing — Woodward also came to find perspective and growth. 'I know I aged a lot in those four years, but in a good way,' he said. 'I think I grew wiser, and understood how to lead and just get better every year.' It's part of the reason why, when the Rangers won the World Series in 2023 — in Bruce Bochy's first season as Woodward's managerial successor — Woodward felt pride rather than resentment; confident he had left his old club in a better place than he found it. Read more: Bobby Miller struggles, but Dodgers complete sweep of Rockies Advertisement 'Those four years, I was really proud of, when I left,' he said. '[The club] was in a much better spot internally, all the way from the staff to the front office to the sports science to all the different things that we did … Everything was in line. And they won. Proud of that.' It doesn't mean Woodward will be in for a big ovation when he returns this weekend, during the Dodgers' three-game series at Globe Life Field. He said his old friends in Dallas joked they should all come to form a cheering section, 'because you just don't know the reaction you're going to get' from the rest of the crowd. But when asked to reflect back on his time with the Rangers this week, the potential awkwardness of the return didn't overshadow the silver linings Woodward took from his tenure. 'Tremendous experience. Grateful for the opportunity,' he said. 'I just think it's important that you learn and grow.' Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Dodgers coach Chris Woodward is ‘proud' of Rangers managerial stint, despite 2022 firing
ARLINGTON, Tex. — Chris Woodward doesn't have any hard feelings toward the Texas Rangers. Just some awkward ones about being back this week. 'I don't know if I'm looking forward to it,' the Dodgers first base coach said with an uncertain chuckle on Wednesday, ahead of his first return trip to Arlington since his time as Rangers manager ended with a midseason firing in 2022. 'I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people … just the whole staff, the assistant trainers, just people I haven't seen,' he added. 'But I don't know if it's something that's on my bucket list to go back and do.' Such conflicting emotions mirror the way Woodward reflects on his Rangers tenure at large — a four-season stint with what was then a rebuilding ball club that taught Woodward much, but ended on a sour note. 'I don't have any regrets or any bad feelings toward anything,' he said. 'Obviously, there were some disagreements that led to me not being there anymore. But I have nothing but respect for everybody. I don't hold a grudge. Life's too short, man. Honestly, I take that experience as a really positive thing.' Originally hired by the Rangers in November 2018, after serving as the third-base coach on back-to-back pennant-winning Dodgers teams, Woodward's first season in charge in Texas began with promise. Joey Gallo and Hunter Pence led the offense as All-Star selections. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn anchored a veteran core of pitchers. In late June, the Rangers were 10 games over .500, far outpacing modest preseason expectations. But then, the vagaries of baseball set in. Gallo and Pence both suffered season-ending injuries. The pitching staff began to crumble beneath a lack of reliable depth. What had started as a 'decent' year, Woodward said, ended with the Rangers limping to 78 wins. And after fading following a 10-9 start in 2020, the Rangers never had a winning record under Woodward again. Instead, Texas entered a rebuild, giving Woodward's job a much more developmentally focused bent. Behind the scenes, the organization created entirely new personnel departments, reimagined player development processes and administered ever-changing responsibilities to members of the coaching staff. Woodward had a hand in every bucket, trying to establish everything from hitting style to base-running technique to a roster-wide focus on all-around fundamentals. Compared to a fully-fledged contender like the Dodgers, it almost felt like building from the ground up. 'Here [with the Dodgers], it's such a well-oiled machine. Yeah, we make little adjustments to things here and there, but no major changes,' Woodward said. In Texas, on the other hand, 'we added a lot of resources and a lot of things while I was there, which was necessary. Because we had to get caught up to 'championship standards,' is what I called it.' 'When everything's a blank canvas,' he added, 'it's not as easy as people think.' The losses along the way were difficult (the Rangers were 133-203 over Woodward's final three seasons, finishing in last place twice). The firesale trades of team stalwarts like Gallo and Lynn were 'probably one of the harder things to deal with,' Woodward recalled. And when the Rangers failed to take a step forward in 2022, despite their marquee free-agent signings of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager (the ex-Dodgers shortstop whom Woodward helped woo to Texas) the previous offseason, discontent among the club reached a boiling point. In an unexpected move, Woodward was fired on Aug. 15, 2022, with a year remaining on his contract. 'I tell a lot of the staff here that's never managed, 'Each year, you feel like you've aged five,'' said Woodward, who returned to the Dodgers in a special advisor role the following winter, before rejoining the on-field staff this year as first-base coach following Clayton McCullough's hiring by the Miami Marlins. 'It's kind of like being president, in a way,' the 48-year-old Woodward added. 'You see guys age right before your eyes.' But through those trials — which also included the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Rangers' move into a new stadium during an era of social distancing — Woodward also came to find perspective and growth. 'I know I aged a lot in those four years, but in a good way,' he said. 'I think I grew wiser, and understood how to lead and just get better every year.' It's part of the reason why, when the Rangers won the World Series in 2023 — in Bruce Bochy's first season as Woodward's managerial successor — Woodward felt pride rather than resentment; confident he had left his old club in a better place than he found it. 'Those four years, I was really proud of, when I left,' he said. '[The club] was in a much better spot internally, all the way from the staff to the front office to the sports science to all the different things that we did … Everything was in line. And they won. Proud of that.' It doesn't mean Woodward will be in for a big ovation when he returns this weekend, during the Dodgers' three-game series at Globe Life Field. He said his old friends in Dallas joked they should all come to form a cheering section, 'because you just don't know the reaction you're going to get' from the rest of the crowd. But when asked to reflect back on his time with the Rangers this week, the potential awkwardness of the return didn't overshadow the silver linings Woodward took from his tenure. 'Tremendous experience. Grateful for the opportunity,' he said. 'I just think it's important that you learn and grow.'
