Brebeuf, Butler graduate Haddad applying talent with Yankees

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Radley Haddad has built a skill set that he uses to help the New York Yankees as a coaching assistant and bullpen coach.

Haddad is educated on everything from pitch design to game planning. He sits in on hitter’s meetings. He speaks the language of analytics and translates it into terms that players can understand. 

Once a game starts, he’s in the bullpen to assist pitchers in geting ready.

The Yankees have newcomers for 2020 at pitching coach (Matt Blake) and catching coach (Tanner Swanson). 

Haddad has been in the organization since 2013. He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent and was a catcher is the system until 2016, when he served as a player-coach at Staten Island in preparation for a minor league coaching assignment. 

But an opportunity came with the major league club and Haddad has been on the Bronx Bombers staff since 2017. He can use his knowledge to help Blake and Swanson with their transition.

“Where those guys will want or need help, I’m there to fill in the gaps,” says Haddad, a graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory High School (2008) and Butler University (2013) — both in Indianapolis. ”A lot of my time will probably be spent on game planning.”

Radley and wife Arielle, a Franklin, Ind., native who he met at Butler, moved from Manhattan to New Jersey in January. It’s a 20-minute drive to Yankee Stadium. 

Being close year-round has made it easy for Haddad to get to know the ins and outs of the team’s analytics department. 

Hadded earned a Finance degree at Butler. His familiarity with regressions, progressions and algorithms allows him to work with weight averages and other analytic concepts.

“You need to have some experience in some upper level math,” says Haddad. “You don’t have to be a genius. It’s math and it’s computers and being able to write codes.

“(Players) are very open to what we’re trying to do. Kids coming from college programs are more up with technology and buzzwords and they understand the value. We’re all trying to accomplish the same thing. Sometimes you just have to use different verbiage.”

Haddad notes that 29-year-old right-hander Gerrit Cole, who signed as a free agent in December 2019 and likely would have been tabbed by manager Aaron Boone as the Yankees’ Opening Day starter had the 2020 season started on time, has embraced analytics during his career.

“He’s really smart guy and cares about his career,” says Haddad. “He applied what they gave him in Houston. He used the information presented to him.

“We’re trying to parlay off of that and make him just a tick better.”

With Haddad being close by, he’s also been able to catch area residents Coleand righty reliever Adam Ottavino during the current COVID-19-related shutdown. Some of those sessions happened in back yards. The Stadium was just recently made available.

Players and staff are literally spread across the globe and have stayed in-touch through group texts and Zoom calls. Sharing of Google Docs has allowed coaches and other pitchers to keep up with their progress.

Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey makes sure they have what they need, including a catcher, so they can stay on track and be ready.

Haddad likes the way Gerrit puts it: “I will keep the pilot light on so I can fire it up.”

As of this writing, Gerrit is in a starting rotation mix that also features Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Jordan Montgomery, Jonathan Loaisiga, James Paxton and Domingo German.

Fireballer Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees closer. Besides Ottavino and Chapman, the bullpen includes Zack Britton, Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, Tommy Kahnle and Tyler Lyons.

Haddad moved with his family to Carmel, Ind., at 10. He played travel baseball with the Carmel Pups. They were in need of a catcher so Radley put on the gear and fell in love with the position.

“I loved everything about it,” says Haddad, who was primarily a catcher at Brebeuf, two seasons at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. (2009 and 2010), and two at Butler (2012 and 2013). “I liked the mental side, being involved in every pitching and calling games. I liked working with all the pitchers and seeing how guys can manipulate the ball.”

John Zangrilli was a frequent spectator at Carmel Pups games and is now Greyhounds pitching coach on a staff led by Matt Buczkowski. 

Zangrilli was head coach at Brebeuf when Haddad was there and had a major impact.

“He was the most beneficial person in my baseball career,” says Haddad of Zangrilli. “He taught me about being a real baseball player and taking care of business.

“That meant doing things the right way, paying attention to details.”

It was also the way you treat people. It was more than baseball, it was life skills. 

Zangrilli was at Radley and Arielle’s wedding in 2018.

Haddad earned honorable mention all-state honors at Brebeuf. He helped the Braves to an IHSAA Class 3A No. 1 ranking and a Brebeuf Sectional title while hitting .494 with 38 runs scored as a senior.

Playing time at Western Carolina was limited and Haddad decided to go to Butler, where he started 89 games in his two seasons.

NCAA rules at the time required players transferring between Division I school to sit out a transfer season. That’s what Haddad did when he went to Butler, where Steve Farley was Bulldogs head coach.

“Steve was a great guy,” says Haddad. “He welcomed me. He didn’t have any stigma about who I was and why I was leaving a school. He knew I wanted to get on a field.

“He’s a good man who taught people how to live the right way.”

Though he doesn’t get back to Indiana often, Haddad stays connected to central Indiana baseball men Zangrilli, Farley, Chris Estep, Jay Lehr and Greg Vogt.

During his high school years, Haddad played travel baseball for the Indiana Mustangs which operate out of Estep’s RoundTripper Sports Academy in Westfield. 

Lehr is a long-time baseball instructor based in Hamilton County.

Vogt, a former Carmel Pups teammate of Haddad, runs PRP (Passion Resilience Process) Baseball out of Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville.

“We played together or against each other our whole lives,” says Haddad of Vogt. “He’s done a great job of building a program he believes in.”

Bob Haddad Jr., Radley’s father, is Chief Operating Officer at Harrison Lake Country Club in Columbus. Radley’s mother, Lauren Schuh, is remarried. 

Radley (30) has two younger brothers — Griffin Haddad (28) and Ian Schuh (20). 

Grffin is an assistant athletic trainer for the Green Bay Packers. He went to Brebeuf for four years, earned his undergraduate degree at Texas Christian University and his master’s at the University of Michigan. 

Ian spent one year at Brebeuf and finished high school at Carmel. He is at South Dakota State University with his sights on being a conservation officer.

Haddad was featured on the Robertson Training Systems podcast in January.

Radley Haddad, a graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory High School and Butler University – both in Indianapolis, is entering his fourth season on the coaching staff of the New York Yankees. In 2020, he is a coaching assistant and bullpen coach. (New York Yankees Photo)

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Norton looks for Butler Bulldogs pitchers to be aggressive

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Ben Norton wants his Butler University arms to go after hitters.

The third-year baseball pitching coach is not interested in nibbling at the corners of the plate.

“The whole staff has to buy into throwing strikes,” says Norton. “We want to to get (hitters) out in four pitches or less, always be aggressive and have the utmost confidence in yourself.

“If you don’t think you’re better than the hitter, you might as well get off the mound.”

As the NCAA Division I Bulldogs get ready to open the 2019 season Feb. 15 against Rider in Lexington, S.C., there are 17 pitchers on the roster. That number includes right-handers Ryan Pepiot (who went 6-0 with 12 starts in 2018 and is a preseason all-Big East Conference honoree in 2019), Jack Pilcher (10 saves and 20 relief appearances), Sam Hubbe (15 games, including eight starts) and Connor Schultz (16 games with three wins and one start) and left-hander Joe Graziano (13 games with three wins and four starts).

With Norton in charge, Butler had 405 strikeouts and 209 walks in 451 2/3 innings 2017. There were 454 K’s and 211 free passes in 481 innings in 2018.

Ideally, Norton would like to see his starters go deep into games and have one or two relievers finish it off.

“I want the best pitcher on the mound,” says Norton. “We have to be creative with match-ups. Sometimes we might us a right-hander who has a great change-up vs. a lefty.”

Pitchers at the bottom of the depth chart may not rack up a lot of innings, but they are given a chance of developing so they can help the team in the future.

When Norton greeted his pitchers during fall workouts, the emphasis the first three or four weeks was getting arms in shape with consideration about how much they might have been used in the summer.

“It’s always good to have the blood flowing to the muscles and ligaments so they don’t tighten up,” says Norton. “It’s getting everything to fire.”

After early weeks of the fall came intrasquad games plus two contests against outside competition now allowed by the NCAA at the D-I level (Butler played the Great Lakes Canadians and Indiana University Kokomo).

“We were competing for jobs,” says Norton. “After the fall, we went into individual work.”

Some pitchers looked to add a third or fourth pitch to their repertoire.

Players were away for five weeks during the holiday break and were scheduled to pitch their first pre-season bullpen sessions Tuesday, Jan. 15.

“Right now I want them to be healthy — first and foremost,” says Norton. “We don’t want to pitch them too much too early.

“It is a long season.”

The goal is to build up arm strength so that starters can pitch 60 to 70 pitches live the weekend before the opener and be able to go five or six innings in a game. Relievers are trying to progress so they can recover and pitch every other day.

Norton expects his pitchers to throw five times a week this week and next and then five or six times a week depending on who they are.

“Older guys have more freedom to not do as much throwing,” says Norton. “They understand their body a little bit better.”

Norton wants all pitchers to have an understanding of how they move as the deliver the baseball.

“You don’t have to know biomechanics, you need to know how your body works,” says Norton. “I ask a lot of questions about how they feel.

“I want them to make adjustments as they go instead of overhauling.”

Besides guiding the pitchers, Norton participates in recruiting. Those duties are shared by head coach Dave Schrage, assistant Andy Pascoe and Norton (Brian Meyer is a volunteer assistant).

“I recruit all positions,” says Norton. “I try to see every pitcher we recruit — on film or live games. I evaluate how they fit into the program and also what their potential could be.”

Norton says Butler’s recruiting philosophy is to start local and work their way out, meaning go for Indiana players if possible but go where there are players who fit the program.

Besides the Bulldogs, the Big East’s baseball-playing members are Creighton, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova and Xavier.

A former right-handed pitcher, Norton played for coach Larry Windmiller at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, graduating in 2003. His older brother David Norton (Dwenger Class of 1999) also played for Windmiller.

“He was a great coach,” says Norton. “He built that field (at Shoaff Park). He was well-rounded in the game of baseball.”

He played at Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., for coach Rob Fournier then at the University of Evansville for Schrage. He won nine games each in 2006 and 2007 and was selected in the 24th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He pitched one season in the Royals system before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury.

“I enjoyed playing for (Fournier),” says Norton. “He’s high intensity. He wants the best for everybody and pushes them hard. He has connections throughout the baseball community.”

His career has intersected several times with current Butler head coach Schrage. Norton played for and later coached for Schrage at Evansville and was on his staff at South Dakota State University.

“Playing for him was great,” says Norton of Schrage. “He always cared about you on and off the field. Coaching for him, I have a lot of freedom with the pitching staff

“He’s been a mentor. He’s taught me to keep positive throughout the year as the season goes up and down.”

It was Schrage and Jackrabbits bus driver Rod Josephsen that introduced Norton to the woman that is now his wife. Nicole Norton is Josephsen’s daughter.

Norton began his coaching career at Evansville, spending the fall of 2008 as an assistant with the Purple Aces. He was an assistant at Indiana Tech in the spring of 2009. He moved on to the University of Illinois-Springfield for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, serving as an assistant the first spring and interim head coach for the second. He moved on to Lincoln (Ill.) College as an assistant for 2012 then went to South Dakota State as an assistant for four seasons (2013-16).

Norton was on the staffs of Kip McWilliams at Indiana Tech, former South Dakota State assistant Brian Grunzke at Illinois-Springfield and Tony Thomas at Lincoln.

“(McWilliams) is knowledgable about every position,” says Norton. “He allowed me to take over the pitching staff. He’s always on the phone trying to get players and get better.

“(Grunzke) is a high-energy guy. He’s always willing to work with guys and very personable. With recruiting, he does his dilligence on the phone and scouting on the road. It was good for me to learn from him as a young coach.

“(Thomas) does a good job of coaching guys up. It was a unique situation (when I went to Lincoln). I was was looking for a place to coach. I came in the middle of the season and took over the pitching staff.”

Fort Wayne’s Jim and Joan Norton have three children — David, Kyle and Ben.

Ben Norton is the pitching coach at Butler University in Indianapolis. (Butler University Photo)

Ben Norton, the pitching coach at Butler University in Indianapolis, played at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Dwenger High School, Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., the University of Evansville and in the Kansas City Royals organization. (Butler University Photo)

 

Former Valpo U. head coach Twenge earns national recognition in Minnesota

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Paul Twenge was head baseball coach at Valparaiso (Ind.) University for 19 seasons (1988-2006). He is the Crusaders’ all-time leader in games won (378) and games coached (1,011). Second on that list is Emory G. Bauer with 359 wins and 606 games.

Before leading teams at the NCAA Division I level, Twenge was head coach at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minn., where he earned 122 victories. The 1985 team won a Minnesota state title and qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association region tournament.

Since leaving Valpo, Twenge has been the head baseball coach at Minnetonka High School on the southwest side of Minneapolis.

Using his college experience and the lessons he’s learned from other professional and college coaches, he guides the Skippers in Minnesota State High School League play. Competing in the state’s largest class, Minnetonka (enrollment around 3,000) was a Class 4A state runner-up in 2018.

Twenge was presented with the American Baseball Coaches Association/Diamond National High School Division I Coach of the Year award at the 2019 ABCA Convention in Dallas.

“It’s crazy to believe you’re the one they picked out of 15,000 coaches,” says Twenge.

Attending and often speaking at events like the ABCA Convention in January, Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association clinic in October and others, Twenge finds ways to keep things current for his Minnetonka players.

“We try to add something new,” says Twenge. “So the information doesn’t go stale, we find a different way of saying it.

“An athlete does not know what they don’t know. If you never introduce it to them, they’ll never understand it. Certain aspects are similar on all three levels (pro, college, high school). I’m a big proponent from learning at the highest level and applying it where I’m at.”

 

It’s all about the Baseball I.Q of his players.

“We want them to understand the game,” says Twenge. “When our athletes leave here for college, they have a good foundation for that coach to build on.

“Hopefully, that athlete will be easier to coach. Hopefully, they can learn at a higher speed.”

Twenge oversees a program with up to 90 players. The Skippers field five teams — varsity, junior varsity, sophomore, freshmen A and freshmen B.

“You better be coordinated or you’re going to cause a lot of issues,” says Twenge, whose teams have two turf fields on-campus, which helps in Minnesota’s typically-cool and damp spring climate. “We’re not fighting the elements. If the temperature is 35, we’re playing — as long as there’s no lightning.”

Twenge notes one of the differences between high school baseball in Minnesota and Indiana.

“The developmental process in Indiana allows a little longer time than we have,” says Twenge. “It comes sooner and lasts longer.

“Generally speaking, we’re about three weeks behind Indiana.”

Starting the last week of March and finishing the third week of June, Minnetonka plays at least 22 regular-season games plus the state tournament series. If the Skippers make it through the sectional, they advance to the state finals.

Besides being head baseball coach, Twenge is his school’s activities coordinator.

“Our goal of Minnetonka is to have as many students as possible involved in an activity,” says Twenge.

On the sports side, hockey is huge. The Skippers won a Class 2A state boys championship on the ice in 2018. No. 1-ranked Minnetonka has been invited to participate in Hockey Day Minnesota Saturday, Jan. 19 in Bemidji.

At a school that has crossover athletes, Twenge welcomes some hockey players to the diamond in the spring.

“Baseball is a down time for them,” says Twenge. “They’re on elite (hockey teams) in the summer.”

Twenge, who played baseball and football at Mayville State University in North Dakota and earned his masters degree from South Dakota State University, still keeps tabs on Indiana.

“We lived there 19 years,” says Twenge. “You check on your friends to see how they’re doing and hopefully they’re doing well.”

Paul and Dawn Twenge have three adult children. Alyson Twenge is a teacher in California and a former diver at South Dakota State. Both sons live in Minnesota. Alex Twenge is a chiropractor and former baseball player at the University of North Dakota. Axel Twenge is hoping to apply to law school soon. He played baseball at North Dakota State University.

Since the 2007 season, Paul Twenge has been the head baseball coach at Minnetonka High School in Minnesota. He was head baseball coach at Valparaiso (Ind.) University for 19 seasons (1988-2006).

Paul Twenge was presented with the American Baseball Coaches Association National High School Division I Coach of the Year award at the 2019 ABCA Convention in Dallas.