Just when you thought you had seen it all from Triston Casas, along comes this ...
The rookie first baseman, who has already distinguished himself for out-of-the-ordinary routines during his young Major League Baseball career, is separating himself once again. This time, the approach has necessitated some uncomfortable conversations with the umpires.
As it turns out, Casas doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to his time in the batter's box, which is why there were more than a few early-season in-bat conversations with the umps.
Casas likes to oftentimes yell out where he believes the pitch is going to land when not swinging at it. Initially, this was taken as a slight by many home plate umpires, who believed the hitter was trying to steal calls with his verbalization. But, no, according to Casas. It's all just part of his process.
"First and foremost, it’s just a reaction," Casas told WEEI.com. "It’s never anything that I tried to develop or tried to work on. I would say what happens in that four-tenths of a second, it’s too fast to describe and sometimes it’s so blurry you consider it luck at some point with the results. I feel like to stay in a competitive mindset, just growing up and trying to track the pitches as early as possible and try and make a determination where the pitch is going to head in the zone. When I yell something at myself it kind of stops my swing, as well. I’m in a yes, yes, yes, no mindset when I go up to the plate, anticipating a good pitch is going to come in the zone and then when it goes on the fringe, on the border of the strike zone I try and yell where it is just to myself. Obviously, everybody else hears it depending on how loud the crowd it is. Sometimes the umpires hear it and we have a back and forth discussion about it. I have had umpires who have taken offense to it, thinking I’m yelling at them to call a ball. Because it is in that location doesn’t necessarily mean that. He can disagree with me all he wants because that’s his job. I have gotten better at vocalizing my actions prior to them happening so it’s a proactive approach instead it’s reactive, mid-at-bat banter with the umpire."
As for how the practice took root, Casas explained it certainly wasn't all part of a master plan.
"In 2021 I noticed myself doing it more and more," he said. "That’s kind of how I have understood myself as a hitter and understand when I know I’m going go good or going bad. When I see the ball early enough to make a decision where it’s going to be and yell it, sometimes before it hits the catcher’s mitt. It comes and it goes.
"I just started doing it one day and people started bringing my attention to it more and more, saying it wasn’t common. I thought it was something everybody naturally did. But I guess it’s a little bit unorthodox for somebody to yell where the pitch is. I think subconsciously every hitter kind of does that, whether they say it or not is a different story. I think I started it in 2021. I know I went to the Fall League in 2021 and I was dong it there. Sometime in that year I felt like I started."
As Casas noted, the reaction by some MLB umpires to the process has necessitated preemptive strikes before he sees a single pitch. In the first baseman's eyes, it's all part of the evolution that comes with being immersed into the big leagues.
"I have just been telling the umpires I have a reactionary, Tourettes-like yelling problem that I can’t control and sometimes I can be loud enough they can hear. I don’t mean ay disrespect by it. It’s just my way of staying competitive in the box," he said.
Casas added, "The umpires are part of the game, for sure, and having a good relationship with all of them is something I’m working on. It starts with communication. Umpires were never a factor in the game for me until I got into professional baseball and started seeing them more and more and realizing I was going to be around the same crews the majority of my career. We have a lot of years, but they have more. There are going to be umpires who are going to be around longer than my career. I just want to make sure I respect them. I understand they have a lot of time on the field and have a little bit of influence into the game and how my bats can really shift. I think I have been dealing with it a little bit better, but not trying to overcomplicate is definitely the key. And not letting them become a mental factor, as well. It’s something that I focus on. Just making sure I’m acknowledging them and giving them the respect they deserve in a positive manner. Sometimes if I disagree I will let them know in the nicest way possible. I haven’t had any battles with umpires up until now just because I have been vocalizing."
