He made his debut with the Cardinals in 2010 and was claimed off waivers by Colorado in 2012. After missing most of two seasons because of Tommy John surgery, Ottavino struggled mightily in 2017. He logged a 5.06 earned run average and 39 walks in 53 1/3 innings and was left off the playoff roster.

“I knew the next year was do or die for my career,” Ottavino said. “But that’s the stuff I really enjoy — attacking the root of the problem. It’s better that I hit rock bottom because I wasn’t holding on to anything I’d done before.”

A power pitcher with a dominant slider, Ottavino decided his command and consistency needed fixing. Having spent time at Driveline — a data-driven performance training center in Washington State — he determined that videotaping every practice session would be his answer, rather than making adjustments based on “feel” or opinion. Fully committed to coaching himself, he bought two cameras — a Rapsodo to measure spin rate and a high-speed Edgertronic SC2 that compresses each pitch into a slow-motion replay. Then he worked to become more fluent in the data.

The resulting knowledge, he said, helped establish a consistent foundation and led to increased confidence. The only problem? Ottavino had nowhere to do any of this. His off-season throwing partner, the Mets starter Steven Matz, had moved away, and daily trips to a facility on Long Island ate up too much time that could be spent with his wife and two toddlers.

In stepped his father-in-law, a developer with a vacant Harlem storefront for rent. After Ottavino, with his father’s help, spent two weeks laying turf, buying equipment and learning to use the cameras, the Lab was in session and the real fun began.