Brent's Back: C's Skipper Dialed In For Year 2

After leading the C’s to their first playoff berth in five years last season, North Delta’s Brent Lavallee returns to the top step of the home dugout at The Nat for 2023. We caught up with the skipper during the last weekend of Spring Training in advance of the team’s arrival in Vancouver.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and context.

Canadians: Lots has been made about this year’s big league team being more mature and experienced, and Blue Jays manager John Schneider made attention to detail a main focus at Spring Training. What is the overall “vibe” of the organization as the regular season gets set to start?

Brent Lavallee: In baseball, it’s easy to ride the highs too high and the lows too low. That comes with youth and inexperience. The game the Blue Jays played the last couple of years was kind of “gorilla ball,” where they just outscore you and neglect other parts of the game. We’ve traded in the [home run] jacket for a Gold Glove or two. Camp has a different look, and the message from Schneids is that no little things get missed. Because of that, we should see a higher level of focus in those smaller areas throughout the season.

C’s: How did this spring compare to past camps?

BL: It's different this year, different for the better. We’re with our groups more often and earlier in the day. We have more time together as a coaching staff and more time with the group that is competing for our level. Last year you’d see that group the last three days of camp, this year it’s a week to ten days. One, it helps the staff. Most of us have worked together before and a lot of those players have more familiarity with us now. It’s nice having the groups clear and established so that we can do more targeted work towards what we’re about to go do. When we’re working on double cuts, we start talking about The Nat, not the backfield at the Player Development Complex. When we’re at Funko Field [in Everett], what we’re going to do with the wall there, etcetera.

C’s: Take us through a typical day at camp.

BL: Guys get their early work in then they lift. We do baserunning, team defense, and individual D before batting practice. BP can be from the machine, a live arm or situational. We’ll play a game after lunch then rinse and repeat the next day. We’re building the workload of the guys who are going to be starting every day, with more focus on getting their legs under them. A normal day is full of work, every day.

C’s: 53 former Canadians appeared in at least one Grapefruit League game this year. What’s it like for you to see guys you’ve managed making a contribution – even in spring games – in those big league situations?

BL: I get goosebumps thinking about that. For me, going back to Rookie ball, Gabby [Martinez], [Rainer] Nuñez, Dasan [Brown], guys I had at the lowest level of the organization then getting lucky enough to catch them last year and see where they’re going this year. It’s a huge testament to our whole org top to bottom and bottom to top. Seeing where these guys start out, what’s important in their youngest years as they grow and what they turn into over time – and seeing those guys hold their own and knowing the amount of work that has gone on in the past three years – is really rewarding.

A quick story: we had all got off the field [on March 3] as a staff and we’re in the workroom. The game is on TV and a lot of the young players were in the game. There were 60 to 80 staffers in that room on our toes the whole time cheering for a meaningless Spring Training game. When Nuñez hit the walk-off the whole place erupted, everyone high fiving each other. We were talking about how we worked on that exact pitch he hit earlier that day; [former C’s manager and current Dunedin Blue Jays skipper] Donnie Murphy threw him sliders in the cage that day and was jokingly saying “That’s ‘cause of me!”

RAIN' Supreme 🔥

Rainer Nunez walks us off! pic.twitter.com/IHvEmq67wK

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 3, 2023

We tell these guys “You’re working for this opportunity” and seeing them get that chance is super cool. It almost feels like you’re making the outing with them sometimes. Especially when they’re in minor league camp, they go over [to the big league field] for the day then come back, it really ties it all together for the staff, that sense of community and team and family that we strive for.

C’s: Last year was your first full season as a manager and you did it in the city you grew up in no less. Given all the obstacles, distractions and challenges that came with that, what’s something you’re planning on doing differently in Year 2?

BL: Our practice and pregame work. I think we have some room to grow in how we practice and work daily. It’s not like last year was poor, but every year we try to always be improving the time we spend working. Our prep as a staff – and mine as an individual – have improved. Now we know what goes into preparing to win and what made guys last year successful or unsuccessful at this level. I’m really pleased with how last year went, and I think our practice and prep will improve this year. And if those things are improving, then our performance will be better as well. Practice, preparation and performance.

C’s: Your staff has a lot of familiarity with each other but there are some changes and fresh faces aboard this year. How will that affect your role as manager?

BL: Losing [2021-22 C’s Pitching Coach Phil] Cundari, having a first-year pitching coach [2022 Bullpen Coach Joel Bonnett] and a first year coach [former big leaguer Austin Bibens-Dirkx], I’ll be more involved in the pitching discussions and managing bullpens. [Last year] I got to step back and let Phil and Joel just dominate, and they did. This year I think it’ll make it a little easier if I can have a hand in that. Adding Danny Canellas as a bench coach and catching coach is huge. Danny brings an absolute ton to the table. He’ll be a future manager in my opinion. Ashley [Stephenson] brings a newer perspective, a ton of knowledge and experience, and a fresh vantage point. There’s lots of really good going on.

We also return [Athletic Trainer] Roelvis [Vargas], we return [Strength & Conditioning Coach] Tommy [LaBriola], the consistency of “Prepare, Compete, Recover;” those are the three staples of our High Performance Department. Ro is familiar with the league and with the surroundings. Tommy’s been there three years now. [Dietitian] Yuka [Sanui] and [Mental Performance Coach] Raul [Pimentel] are returning as well. Yuka now knows the game and the season’s demands. When we talk about nutrition, it’s not just ordering food; performance nutrition – having her fueling us and helping our guys perform better – is a big part of her job. Raul same thing. I thought he had a huge impact last year and we definitely noticed when he was not with us while he was visiting Double-A New Hampshire. You can look at it through a manager/pitching coach/hitting coach lens, but you can pull it back farther and the consistency of the rest of the staff is pretty cool and a great opportunity for our players to get the best coaching. I really like where we’re at.

C’s: What are some things you’re looking forward to this season?

BL: What I’m looking forward to most is myself, our staff and players who are returning having a better understanding of what it takes to both win the Northwest League and to get to Double-A, Triple-A and the big leagues. We watched guys like Barger dominate while he was here, go to Double-A and do the same thing then go to Triple-A to do the same thing; now he’s on the 40-man roster and knocking on the door [of the majors]. For us to see all that within a calendar year – and to get to run it back and do it again with the same timeframe in mind – means any of the guys we roll out there on April 7 could be in that same 40-man conversation and have an impact on the big league club in one year. Knowing how much of an impact we can have on the big league club in a short amount of time and what it takes to win the league is about the consistency, the work and not giving up. Playing all 132 and the postseason, that’s another thing I’m really looking forward to. Last year helped me learn and gain that experience to better understand the demands of the job at the level.

C’s: Last year was a blast, especially in the second half. Do you have any favorite moments from 2022 that still stick with you?

BL: How much time do you have? [laughs] That night we had a run-in with Hillsboro [July 16 at The Nat], we were getting dotted pretty good and [catcher Andres] Sosa hit a big homer. That chain of events and what it did for our team was huge – and now Sosa’s knocking on the door [of the upper minors] too. That was a week I won’t forget. The fire the guys had during that stretch; we went 6-0 against [the Hops] as part of a 9-0 streak. We didn’t throw back [at them], we didn’t retaliate, but after a certain amount of time enough is enough and our guys did the talking with their tools and talent.

Garrett Spain laid down a base hit bunt against Tri-City in the bottom of the 8^th with two outs and the third baseman playing back. That’s something that we had told him that needs to be incorporated as part of his game more and he lays down a perfect base hit bunt with a runner on third then we go out and put up a zero. That was impressive.

PK Morris and Zach Britton walk-off homers. The Dam[iano Palmegiani] grand slams, three at home and one on the road. Dasan Brown and Steward Berroa, how fun it was to learn from them on the bases and be a part of their career in terms of understanding how [speed and baserunning are] part of their game and what they need to do. As things got bigger, Dasan only started to play better. A lot of players don’t. It was hugely rewarding to be a part of that.

FINAL // WALK-OFF BY @zbritton33!

His 2nd home run of the game #AtTheNat! pic.twitter.com/xy9HFWoLtn

— Vancouver Canadians (@vancanadians) May 21, 2022

Watching Sem [Robberse] work. We all know what he’s going to be. He didn’t have his heater for parts of the year, and he competed all season very well without his best stuff and now he’s in big league camp throwing his changeup harder than his fastball used to be. Jimmy Robbins pitching his way to Double-A. TJ Brock throwing 100.

The August road trip to Spokane with the season on the line was awesome. We go down there for seven games knowing what it’s going to take to get to the postseason then to take six of those seven and lose the one game in a walk-off fashion, that was a statement series. That’s what we were preparing for and peaking for all year. That week was huge.

There was so much to like. That first road trip of the year in Spokane, it was a day game, game three of the season. Someone took a picture of all the guys sitting and waiting to hit in the cage all beanied up and hoodied up freezing their butts off. But that’s where it started. It was cold but they were together. That photo means a lot. I won’t forget that day. My son Griffin came with us to Everett on July 4. He tagged along with some of the pitchers then after the game came on the field and took a picture with all the hitters after we won that game. Looking back at that photo makes my heart really happy.

Just the humans and the teammates and the players we’re developing. I think that gets lost in data, analytics, wins/losses and promotions sometimes. At the end of the day this game ends for everyone and if we’re not helping to create quality humans then we’re not doing it the right way. If you put people first, they put you first. That’s what the Blue Jays are all about.

Catch Brent and the C’s in action all season long, beginning with Opening Weekend April 7-9. For tickets and more information, visit CanadiansBaseball.com.