Bob Lutz: Wichitan Brad Holman gets the call to the Rangers’ bullpen

There’s something leisurely about baseball bullpens.

Maybe it’s that there’s not always much activity there. When cameras pan bullpens early in games, relief pitchers are often shown telling jokes with their feet kicked up. Bullpens are not associated with high stress.

But Wichitan Brad Holman, who has spent the past seven seasons as a pitching coach in the Texas Rangers’ organization and recently was named Texas’ bullpen coach for the 2016 season, wants everyone to know he’s not entering semi-retirement. Nor is he going to take a whittling knife with him to his new job in the pen.

“Nowadays, with the time and effort that’s put into scouting players and all the sabermetrics that are involved, you’re left with an endless supply of information,” Holman said. “So part of this job is the scouting aspect. I need to make sure I’m on top of things when guys are going into the game so that they know what they’re dealing with.”

The days of the bullpen coach job being given to an elder statesman of an organization as a reward for time served are over.

Holman and bullpen coaches across baseball work in conjunction with pitching coaches to map out work schedules, routines and to help a pitcher with mechanics or the psychological boosts sometimes needed.

Holman will be working with Doug Brocail, who replaces Mike Maddux as the Rangers’ pitching coach after Maddux took a job with the Washington Nationals. Holman will replace Andy Hawkins in the Texas bullpen; Hawkins will be the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers pitching coach in the Royals organization.

“I went through the whole interview process for this job,” Holman said. “It was extensive.”

Holman, a North graduate, said he pursued the pitching coach job that went to Brocail, who pitched parts of four seasons (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994) with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers, then an affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

“We have a lot of common interests,” Holman said of his new co-worker. “We’re both kind of country boys.”

The Rangers were the surprise winners of the American League West in 2015 under first-year manager Jeff Banister. There were many injuries to the pitching staff and the trade-deadline addition of left-hander Cole Hamels was a much-needed boost.

The Rangers’ ace for most of last season, right-hander Yovani Gallardo, is a free agent.

“We have some young guys coming up (Jake Thompson, Alex Gonzalez, Luis Ortiz) who are strong candidates,” Holman said. “Over the last couple of years, though, we’ve had so many injuries at the major-league level that we’ve had to push up a lot of young kids before their time.”

Holman’s older brother, Brian, pitched in the big leagues for Montreal and Seattle. His younger brother, Brent, is the pitching coach at Bishop Carroll.

It’s a pitching family and Holman has long worked as a private instructor in the Wichita area, something he still does. He just doesn’t do it as often with more professional demands.

Holman, 47, pitched professionally for seven seasons, including 19 games as a reliever with the Mariners in 1993.

“I’m really excited about teaching at the highest level of baseball,” Holman said. “I’ve been to spring training with the Rangers the past few years, but that’s really as a visitor. In the minors, you work with guys and do everything you can do to prepare them for the next level. Then you get new guys and you start all over again.

“I’m excited about getting with guys who when you work with them, they’re not turning around and leaving. They’re staying there.”

Holman said it’ll be rare that he has to work with pitchers on overhauling mechanics. His job, he said, will be to help fine tune and to create confidence where confidence is lacking.

He and Brocail have already started to map out a plan, Holman said.

“From what I’ve been told, there is going to be a joint effort between myself and Doug in terms of the approach we take with the pitchers,” Holman said. “I’ve been in the organization for quite a while so I’m familiar with our guys and that should be able to help Doug. This isn’t going to be a separated effort. Doug comes without an ego and I try to operate the same way.”

The perception of bullpen coaches is changing.

“You’re not just answering the phone,” Holman said.

He has spent years learning the science of pitching and studying the tendencies of hitters. Holman knows the intricacies of pitching and also understands the importance of the mental approach.

Every now and then you run into a guy who’s really in a funk and needs his delivery overhauled,” Holman said. “But most of these guys are so in tune with their bodies so if there’s an adjustment, it’s something really small.”

The small things, though, add up. Holman’s job is to get the best out of pitchers, which turns into the worst out of hitters.

He’s excited to see how many hitters he can help frustrate in the big leagues.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Wichitan Brad Holman gets the call to the Rangers’ bullpen."