Kevin Cash on Communication and Collaboration

Kevin Cash is in the final week of his first season as a big league manager. He’s had quite the learning experience. Working closely with one of baseball’s most progressive front offices, the 37-year-old former catcher has helped keep the Tampa Bay Rays competitive, despite several key injuries and one of the lowest payrolls in the game.

Currently the youngest manager in MLB, Cash was hired to replace Joe Maddon last December. Prior to coming to Tampa, he spent two years as the bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians, where he worked under Terry Francona.

Cash touched on his first season at the helm – including the importance of communication and collaboration – last week at Fenway Park.

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Cash on what he’s learned: “I’ve learned that it’s a challenging task to stay on top of everything. The communication is a constant that never goes away – communication with the front office, communication with the players. That was a big goal coming in, for all of us – for the entire staff – and we’ve continued to evolve as the season has gone on. It takes time to build relationships. I think we all feel confident that we’re heading in the right direction in that regard.”

On working closely with the front office: “I would say that we have a great dynamic. We discuss as much as we possibly can. That includes the players we acquire and the in-game situations. As a staff, we’re lucky that our front office has been very supportive and understanding. Decisions can be difficult to make, in-game. As a group, we can talk about it until we’re blue in the face – what we think is going to happen – but it doesn’t always go down that way. But as long as we continue to communicate before and after… we’re constantly learning and evolving throughout that process. Our entire coaching staff has input into the in-game decisions, and we fully incorporate the conversations we’ve had with the front office leading up to those points.

“Our front office is a brilliant group of people. They don’t miss anything. I was fortunate to learn a lot when I was with the Indians. They’re very analytical and there’s a lot of communication there. That experience is kind of what I draw from. Unlike Craig Counsell (in Milwaukee), I haven’t worked in the front office, but again, we’re fortunate to have the quality support group that we do.”

On preparation and gut decisions: “We can’t stand the word ‘gut.’ You take gut thoughts out of the equation with the more prepared you are. If you’re having to make gut decisions… I guess we would look at it from the perspective of, ‘Did we prepare as much as we should have?’ Having said that, I get that your instincts and what your eyes are telling you… look, there are difficult decisions that arise in every single game.

“We play a lot of close ball games. We don’t have a lot of games where it just flows naturally. We know going in that we’re going to have some difficult decisions. Taking a pitcher out, pinch-hitting a guy, pinch-running a guy. Every run is so pivotal in our games, so we do as much as we can to prepare for that, both before and after.”

On avoiding surprises and asking for advice: “I don’t know that I’ve had too many surprises. I like to think that I’m challenged every day, but part of what we’re doing by talking so much as a group is trying to avoid the big surprises. You put an emphasis on… I watched Tito (Terry Francona) go through it, firsthand, in Cleveland. The way he communicated with his staff and the decisions he had to make. From afar, you look at this and probably don’t respect just how time-consuming it is. When you’re in this position, you really appreciate it that much more.

“I’ve called and asked for advice. You build those relationships. There’s the guy (in Boston), John Farrell, and there’s Tito. They’ve been through it many more times than I have. Why wouldn’t I reach out and try to gain more knowledge?”





David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.

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jaysfan
8 years ago

Fantastic article David. I also hate the term “gut feeling”. The way I see it is that trusting your gut is just drawing on past experience or observations not necessarily stemming from a lack of preparation. Preparation and having a game plan is incredibly important, but adjusting/deviating from that based on your observations (a pitcher struggling to locate, a batter needing a break) is a very important trait for a manager.

JaysFanToo
8 years ago
Reply to  jaysfan

I think the point Cash is making is that drawing conclusions from past experiences can be really misleading. The human thought process inherently attempts to identify patterns, and we are all susceptible to recency bias.

Deviating from your plan, one that you’ve prepared with great attention to detail, would require some compelling information.

Draxler
8 years ago
Reply to  JaysFanToo

You can sort of catch a glimpse of how far apart the NFL and the MLB are in terms of analytics by how they value terms like gut decisions.
While Cash values the preparation that is required to be ready for any situation and avoid relying on his gut, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers prides himself on going with his gut.