The morning after a lengthy dinner that led to him becoming the Pirates’ special adviser for pitching development, Dewey Robinson felt uncomfortable.
Not with joining the Pirates, mind you. As a matter of fact, Robinson couldn’t wait to get started, a weighty statement considering the longtime pitching guru’s qualifications and reputation around the game.
But having worked in restaurants, Robinson felt horrible that he and director of coaching and player development John Baker occupied the same booth for 3 1/2 hours at The Cheesecake Factory in Sarasota, Fla.
So worried was Robinson that he actually drove back to the restaurant the next day and handed the manager $40, apologizing and asking to leave that money for his server from the night before.
“I felt terrible,” Robinson said. “I needed to do that for my peace of mind.”
The neat part here for the Pirates is that it seems Robinson — who most recently was the Rays’ director of pitching development and has a sterling reputation throughout baseball — chose the Pirates for similar reasons, the 66-year-old wanting to finish his career with a new and unique challenge.
“It’s the perfect fit for what I’m looking to do,” Robinson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday.
Robinson had nothing but great things to say about the Rays, from their ability to scout and acquire talent to how they treated him and functioned as an organization. There are certainly no hard feelings over his departure.
But over the past three or four years, Robinson felt he became more of a scheduler or organizer. He missed the baseball or pitching aspect and sought a “clean break.”
“They treated me great,” Robinson said. “What I was looking for was more of an adviser/consultant role where I don’t organize or structure anything. I can get involved with tweaking pitchers, whether it’s on the mental side, physical side or with analytics. Coach coaches, mentor people, that kind of thing.”
To facilitate his next step, Robinson began contacting teams and proceeded on his own terms, aiming to interview them rather than spending his time explaining what he’s done or what he believes.
“I didn’t know what kind of response I would get,” Robinson said, “but I wanted to find the right organization.”
Robinson had a previous relationship with Pirates special assistant Scott Elarton, who pitched for Robinson in Houston. Robinson had worked with manager Derek Shelton in Tampa and knew general manager Ben Cherington and coordinator of pitching development Josh Hopper as well.
The dinner with Baker sealed the deal, the two chatting about the direction of the organization, Robinson’s role, how the Pirates see a path forward and how they’ve been treating players under the new leadership group.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” Robinson said.
As expected, Robinson has already spotted several similarities between the Pirates and Rays. Things like pitchers’ movement patterns, one-on-one conversations with players, transparency throughout the organization, a coordinated mental approach and a learning-based environment.
And while the Pirates lost 101 games this past season, Robinson — who seems to know what successful small-market baseball looks like — couldn’t be more excited with where he thinks the Pirates are headed.
“They’re gonna be good,” Robinson said. “And they’re gonna be good at the major league level quick. It’s gonna be fun to watch and be a part of.”
Robinson will work up and down the organization, from the major leagues to rookie ball, but his wheelhouse will be helping pitchers transition from Class AAA to the big leagues, an area where the Pirates have struggled in the past.
“That’s a game-changer for me,” Robinson said. “The Rays were great at that.”
Why have the Rays had so much success? Simple. Robinson likened modern pitching development almost to raising kids, where he provides them with choices but also allows/exhorts them to take ownership of their careers.
Oh, and he also tries to accentuate their strengths rather than insisting they do something because he thinks that’s how it should be done.
“I like to tell ‘em, ‘You’re driving this. I’m in the passenger’s seat to help and navigate you, but it’s gonna be your choice,’ ” Robinson said.
Robinson believes in “getting his ducks in a row” before chatting with a pitcher, which essentially means arming himself with video, data and other notes on why he feels a certain way about pitch usage, mechanics or whatever the discussion point may be.
And while he’ll offer thoughts, Robinson ultimately wants the player to decide.
“Most of them appreciate the information,” Robinson said. “The best part of what Tampa did — and I see the Pirates are doing it, too — are these individual meetings where you sit down and say, ‘This is what we have. What do you think? What do you think your strengths are? Where do you want to work?’ ”
Individual work with pitchers at this point has been minimal, Robinson said. He’s only seen the minor league guys throw for two weeks in late November and early December, but those young pitchers have already made Robinson smile.
The same for Cherington, Baker and the Pirates’ new direction.
“These guys are gonna be really good,” Robinson said. “What they’re trying to do in player development and scouting is working, and it’s gonna give them a road map to get to the playoffs, the World Series, the whole nine yards. That’s why I wanted to jump on board.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: January 21, 2022, 9:06 p.m.
