J.P. Antonacci

Canadian Baseball Network

Third base coaches get the glory.

Arms spinning like windmills as they send the winning run home, their late-inning heroics make the highlight reel and earn rave reviews from the manager.

First base coaches, on the other hand, aren’t often mentioned in the post-game media scrum. Their in-game contributions may not be as dramatic, but broadcaster Joe Siddall says the preparation put in by coaches like Tim Leiper of the Toronto Blue Jays is crucial.



“If you see a base runner, especially late in the ballgame, come in against a relief pitcher and steal (on the) first pitch, it’s because Tim has studied video (of that pitcher),” Siddall said.



Before each series, Leiper will spend hours analyzing footage of opposing pitchers’ deliveries and pickoff moves, searching out the slightest tendency – a shoulder shrug, a tilt toward home plate – that might reveal the pitcher’s intention and allow runners to get a better jump.



“You’re always looking for those little intricacies of the game that can help, and Tim’s very good at those things,” Siddall said.



Leiper told Canadian Baseball Network he loves all the homework that goes into being a good first base coach.

“As first base coach you have to be a little more proactive. You’re actually developing a play before it happens, whereas at third base you’re reacting to the play as it does happen,” he said.

“For me the biggest thing is getting runners aware of situations – where defenders are playing, what might happen on this play. Just try to paint a picture before the pitch, so when the ball is hit there’s no guessing.”

Once the batter reaches first, Leiper might remind him of the base-stealing plan they worked out during the pregame meeting, or pass along something he’s noticed about the pitcher’s pickoff move.

“It’s like a quick hit, and it just kind of refreshes their mind,” Leiper said.



“It’s trying to take as much off the player’s plate as possible, because they’ve got to worry about hitting, got to worry about getting on base. So you just try to engage them as straight as you can.”



He added that veterans typically don’t need many reminders, while rookies often appreciate the heads up. “You just gotta know the guy and the situation, and know how much or how little you have to give them.”

Siddall will often see Leiper with a stopwatch, timing the opposing pitcher.

“We use 1.3 seconds as a magic number,” Siddall said, explaining that if the pitcher can deliver the ball to home plate in that time or less, he’s tough to steal on. If he takes longer, however, “a decent base-stealer has a pretty good chance.”

Leiper works as hard in the video room as players do in the weight room.

“I have one job as a base-running coach, and that is to know as much as I can possibly know,” he said. “So I religiously watch how (pitchers) move, what their reads are, what their tells are – anything that can gain us an advantage, it’s up to me to know.”

Now in his third season as a major-league coach after 12 years playing in the minors and a slew of coaching and managing gigs, Leiper has accumulated quite the baseball IQ. The former outfielder also serves as Toronto’s outfield coach, teaching players how to get into position before the pitch and read the ball off the bat.

“You know what’s going on. Having the benefit of being out there for every pitch of every game and seeing so many situations evolve, it’s almost like you’ve been there before,” he said.

Leiper started coaching professionally in the New York Mets organization in 1996 and went on to manage several minor-league teams, winning a Double-A championship with the Jacksonville Suns – a Florida Marlins affiliate – in 2010.

He coached the Caribbean World Series-winning Venezuelan club Aguilas, and spent several winters playing and coaching in the Dominican Republic.



In 2013 the Blue Jays hired Leiper as senior advisor for the club’s minor league operations, and he was made a major-league coach the following year – his first taste of the big leagues after three decades in baseball.

No matter the level of competition, he says the coach’s role is fundamentally the same.



“It comes down to the relationships, the information,” Leiper said. “You’re trying to find a way to put a puzzle together and win a game, and that’s the same no matter where you’re at.”

That isn’t to say the major leagues aren’t unique.

“It’s much easier here,” he said. “Randomness kills me. When you’re in the minor leagues, playing a lot of different teams, it’s super hard to prepare for them. There’s a lot less chance up here, a lot more certainty about what guys are going to do. It just comes down to who can take advantage where advantage is given. And sometimes it’s who just plays better.”

The 50-year-old California native started his Canadian baseball journey when in 1999 he was hired as the hitting coach for the Ottawa Lynx, the Montreal Expos Triple-A affiliate.

He was promoted to manager a few years later and became enamoured of the nation’s capital, spending his off-seasons there with his family.



Ottawa is where Leiper first got involved with Baseball Canada, working with director of national teams Greg Hamilton to help the national team qualify for the 2004 Olympics.



Leiper also coached Canada’s 2006, 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic teams and won Pan-Am gold in 2011, as well as bronze medals at the 2008 and 2011 Baseball World Cup.

He calls being part of the Baseball Canada program “the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“I’ve super enjoyed it. All the emotions that go into tournament baseball – every day’s important, almost every game is like a Game 7,” he said.

“So when we were going through the playoff run last year (in Toronto), it truly prepared me for being able to slow it down and enjoy it too, and not being caught up in all the other craziness surrounding it. I was able to focus on the game.”

Leiper heartily endorses Baseball Canada as a training ground for future MLB players.



“For young players, going through national championships or international tournaments is such a great learning experience,” he said. “When they get here and hopefully get the chance to play in the playoffs or the World Series, they’re prepared for it.”

Siddall witnesses the positive influence Leiper has on the Blue Jays – especially the younger players.

“Experience is so critical,” Siddall said. “On a bigger stage, where the stakes are higher and you’re looking for every little edge that can help you, Tim’s been there. And now he can use that experience and help them.”

While he loves preparing for each game as a coach, Leiper did admit to missing one element of being on the field, especially during Toronto’s playoff run last season.



“It’s so much easier to play, because you directly control the game,” he said with a smile.

But, he quickly added, “I love seeing it through the players’ eyes – to see the excitement. Knowing that I was a player once that wanted to be at that stage, and knowing how gratifying it is.”

That he plays a part in his team’s success – and in his adoptive country to boot – makes the veteran coach and baseball lifer proud.