I remember going to Spring Training two years ago confronting a very awkward mentality and aura in camp. I sensed a lot of indifference in the clubhouse and the daily routine lacking any sort of consistency or fluidity.
The buzz seemed to be centered around sympathy for Terry Collins, in that he was given a pair of deuces at the poker table – unless he could be incredibly creative and savvy, the feeling was he and the club had no chance that year.
What’s worse, it seemed like everyone knew it.
Not today. Now, the spring program is clearly focused and disciplined, and the attitude in camp is that of baseball professionalism. They’re more positive, focused and goal-oriented, and seem more determined to prove all of the naysayers wrong, finally. All of this is evident in their individual demeanors, the way they talk, and the way the execute even those mundane drill on the back fields.
There are a couple of common denominators in camp. One is obvious, and it’s Matt Harvey. He is the toast of camp. When he talks, people listen closely. Wherever he walks, people’s eyes follow. Whenever he picks up a ball – whether it’s to throw a pitch in the bullpen or fielding one in pitcher’s fielding practice – the focus shifts to him. Whether he deserves it or not, he is the Mets next icon, for better or for worse. Harvey represents the hope and patience everyone has been waiting for with this franchise since Sandy Alderson and his group came in here. Now, it’s up to Harvey to deliver on all of the hype and expectations (which he has partially created).
The other is Mike Barwis and his facility, Barwis Methods (which you can learn about here). His program is heavily integrated into everyone’s life at camp. Not only is his fitness and conditioning program a part of the daily routine, but it seems this integrated program has created a certain chemistry and bonded a lot of the players together.
Barwis is on the field with the players every morning, high-fivng them and cheering them on, all while ensuring they are doing the strength and conditioning exercises properly. His protein shakes are available for the players to drink on all of the fields, and they all take advantage of that. I constantly saw groups of players going to and from Barwis Methods over the course of any day, and while I think it has condensed the on-field workouts, it has become an incredibly important aspect of the team’s culture, something which just didn’t exist before. They work there together, they come back to the clubhouse and talk about it together, they coordinate their pre and post workout schedules at Barwis together. They all seem to revere Barwis and credit him and the program for his motivation and determination to make them all better at what they do. This has undoubtedly helped changed the attitude.
It also seemed to me this camp was no longer about teaching and being patient with players as they grow up. The expectation is the players have grown up, and it’s now time to learn how to win. As I said, the work on the field has clearly been condensed, but the work is channeled and rigid. And, when a player didn’t execute properly, either Terry or one of his coaches or veterans made that quite clear, and they repeated the process to make sure it went properly.
All of these things combined seems to have created a hunger among this group of players which hasn’t been evident in a long, long time.
In the end, there’s no way to know if this translates into the standings. Nothing I just talked about matters if the team doesn’t win. I know that. But, there’s no question Terry Collins has worked tirelessly to change the message and the tone around the Mets, and it’s unquestionably infiltrated into the clubhouse and onto the field. Whether or not we as fans believe his message is up to us, but the change was clear to me, as well as the fans who attended during my visit.
To see all of my pictures from my visit to Mets camp in Port St. Lucie, click here.
Just Mets 