ANAHEIM — Even though Kevin Pillar has spent 10 years in the major leagues, placing him at the top of the seniority list among the Angels’ active position players, the 35-year-old outfielder was subjected to the same treatment as a rookie in the “classroom” on Saturday afternoon.
Pillar had to explain to his teammates what happened the night before, when he took off from first base too early and was thrown out at second to end a one-run loss.
“I talked about what I was thinking and feeling in that moment and what probably should have happened,” Pillar said. “You just put it out there and you hope guys learn from it. I hope that I learned from it.”
As a part of what Manager Ron Washington has often described as a season of growth for the Angels, they have been breaking down the previous day’s mistakes every day at the end of the hitters meeting.
Analyzing mistakes is, of course, a part of every major league clubhouse every day. Typically, it would happen in one-on-one meetings between a player and a coach or manager.
The Angels have made it a more formal event this season. In what Washington calls “the classroom,” the Angels’ position players review video and go over the mistakes together each day. Pitchers do the same, but it’s more individual.
Washington wants the players to learn from each other, and also to be accountable to each other.
“You’re the one that put us in your situation,” Washington said. “And I want you to explain what it’s about. It’s no embarrassment. We’re all on the same team. And we’re all learning.”
Even Pillar.
“We’ve all been the victim of being called out,” Pillar said. “I made a stupid mistake the other day.”
Washington and the coaches who run the meetings aren’t looking to focus on things like strikeouts or physical errors. They are talking about fundamentals and mental errors. Sometimes they are subtle things that would go unnoticed by 99% of people watching, and other times they are more blatant.
Bench coach Ray Montgomery said it’s not all negative. They will also pick out the smart plays that could have gone under the radar, giving players props in those cases.
“The game has built-in negativity, so you have to celebrate the success,” Montgomery said. “You can’t ignore the fact that we’re stacking bricks of positive things too, otherwise it would be a lecture every day.”
The players seem to be handling the lectures with the proper perspective so far.
“You can’t have hard feelings here,” outfielder Taylor Ward said. “Anytime it’s something you did, you take it for what it is. We’re all learning here. Regardless of who it is. It happens to all of us. You’ve gotta have thick skin. Just know that you want to get better, and that’s all they care about, getting better.”
Willie Calhoun, a 29-year-old veteran who has played with three other teams, agreed.
“It’s not in a bad way,” Calhoun said. “It’s a learning opportunity. It’s not ‘Oh you’ve messed up here.’ It’s something you can grow from so you don’t do it down the road.”
Pillar, who has been with eight other organizations, admitted that when he first arrived just over a month ago, he was not sure how these classroom sessions would go over. Would calling out players in front of their peers do more harm than good?
He said he quickly learned, however, that the players and the coaches all had the proper perspective to make it work.
“It’s received well,” Pillar said. “In this game, you’ve got to understand, we’re not attacking you. We’re not making fun of you. I think guys in here understand that. That’s why we’re able to do it. …
“Guys in here want to be good. Not just good. Guys want to be great. They want to be successful. Collectively, we want to be successful. Sometimes the way to get over that hump and start playing more consistent baseball is to learn from mistakes.”
They obviously still have plenty of work still to do.
The Angels are 24-38, which includes a 11-21 record in games decided by one or two runs. The differences in many of those games are the kind of tiny fundamentals that are often the focus of the “classroom.”
“It’s just small things with all these one-run losses we keep stacking up this year,” Ward said. “It’s unfortunate. We just need to flip that script and just get on the other side. Just a little tick over to the right side and I think it will all change.”
On Sunday, the Angels made a handful of fundamental mistakes in an ugly 5-1 loss to the Mariners. The next day, they played a clean game in a 2-1 victory over the Padres.
The Angels executed everything well defensively, even something as subtle as shortstop Zach Neto bouncing his throw home on a relay so catcher Logan O’Hoppe wouldn’t have to reach up to receive the ball, possibly allowing the runner to slide under the tag.
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Outfielder Jo Adell wisely held up at second on his leadoff double in the eighth, which was significant because Adell has been one of the players who has often pushed aggressive baserunning too far. The Angels then got him in with two fly balls.
Washington beamed like a proud father after the game, satisfied that his young team is getting it.
“I got a young group, and I just want them to start learning baseball,” Washington said a few days earlier. “And that’s what I’m trying to do. I want you to learn everything about baseball. I just don’t want you to be out there with talent playing. …
“Look at the teams that win. sometimes they screw up too. But they’ve got the personnel to make up for it. I was in Atlanta eight years, and there was a lot of screwing up going on over there, but we had the personnel to make up for it. We don’t have the personnel to make up for it. So we got to try to be almost correct in everything we do. And then you’ll start learning when things don’t go right to not let it fall apart.”
UP NEXT
Astros (LHP Framber Valdez, 4-3, 3.95 ERA) at Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 2-5, 4.69 ERA), Friday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
