Wally Backman evolves with game as manager of Las Vegas 51s
It’s been decades since Wally Backman first earned the “old school” label for his play as a gritty, hard-nosed second baseman.
He hasn’t been able to shake it and wears it today as manager of the 51s. After all, it’s still the style of play he prefers.
Exhibit A:
“If my brother was on the other … team and he’s playing shortstop, I’m going in and trying to take him out,” he said.
But as the game continues to evolve, so has Backman, who turns to numbers for his managerial decisions far more than one would expect for someone who’s constantly referred to as “old school.”
“He’s the kind of manager that wants you to play hard and be tough,” infielder Matt Reynolds said. “It’s not the new era game. He likes the hardball type of thing.
“But he also likes the sabermetrics and (positioning) yourself in the right spot to give yourself the best chance.”
Sabermetrics provide a way to objectively analyze baseball through statistics and have become increasingly more prevalent in today’s game. Backman said he has been using every sabermetric statistic available to him since he’s been managing and that the “old school” tag gets misinterpreted because of his playing days.
Every game, he sits with numbers by his side. He has a color-coded piece of paper with the opposing lineup on it and a bunch of percentages — chase, ground ball, walk, strikeout, among others — that gets reprinted every day.
He’ll send the information to the bullpen, too, so pitchers can study batters they’ll be facing.
Infielder Ty Kelly, who has been in the minors since 2009 and is playing with his fifth organization, said he thinks Backman incorporates numbers into what he does more than other managers he’s played for.
“We’ve gone over, just in the two series that I’ve been here, we’ve gone over the other teams hitters more in depth than in any of the other teams that I’ve played for,” Kelly said recently.
Some of it trickles down from the New York Mets. For example, the 51s use the same defensive positioning system as the big league club, and Kelly said the first thing Mets leaders talked about in spring training was trusting what the numbers show.
So from that standpoint, it’s not shocking the Triple-A manager has a similar philosophy.
It’s information Backman didn’t have when he played, and in today’s game, sometimes all the information can become overload, creating a fine line of what to give the players and what to omit.
Sometimes, it’s even too much for him.
Spin rate, for example, is something he could do without.
“My eyes tell me when a guy’s got a good breaking ball, and (if) hitters are swinging and missing it, it’s a pretty good breaking ball,” Backman said. “I don’t necessarily have to see that.”
So, he’s not completely beholden to the numbers on his paper like some. “Feel for the game” is still important to him, and he likes to employ a combination of both.
“You’ve got to remember, these are just numbers on players. They’re not robots,” Backman said. “You’ve got to use what you see on paper (with) the sabermetrics, and you have to use your eyes, too. What’s going on in the game, it’s feel.”
But they do color many of his in-game decisions, as he tries to put his players in the best possible position to succeed.
After all, Backman considers himself first and foremost a players’ manager. A guy who will stick up for his players no matter what the circumstance “right, wrong or indifferent.” A quick YouTube search of his name confirms that.
So in today’s game, that means the “old school” player has adopted much of the “new school” managerial approach.
“I’m a players’ manager, but I also think I’m very educated on the field. Why I make decisions that I make aren’t just random (reasons),” Backman said. “When I look at the numbers, the numbers tell you something, the individual tells you something, the good ones can put those things together and you know how to use the numbers and the … individuals.”
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand
