During a mid-week game over two weeks ago, Josh Elander did something that he hadn’t done since joining the Tennessee coaching staff in 2017: staying in the dugout while his team was hitting.
After the tough series against Vanderbilt, Elander got together with the team and the staff, as they always do, to debrief from the weekend. One of the topics of focus during this particular meeting was communication.
“We had a lot of conversations after the weekend,” Elander said. “And we just said, ‘Hey, how can we communicate a little bit better as a staff?’”
Having been the third base coach for his entire tenure under Tony Vitello, Elander wanted to keep everything similar to the way it had been after the chaos of the offseason. But after some disappointing early-season results and difficulty communicating, the first-year head coach made a change.
“At this point, [assistant coach Josh Reynolds] and I are playing the game of, ‘Hey, if this, then that,’ and I’m trying to communicate from the third base box,” Elander said.
Elander decided to switch things up and give it a shot against Austin Peay and had positive things to say about the change.
“Even little things like [Tuesday night], I got to sit down with [pitcher] Sawyer Deering after the inning instead of running out to third base. So, it allows me to have a little bit more one-on-one time with those guys,” Elander said. “But a lot of it was even hitters… with the guys that are going up to the box.”
Elander said that, in all aspects of the game on Tuesday, the communication felt much better and much more intentional, and the players seemed to agree.
“It’s a good vibe with him in there,” sophomore outfielder Levi Clark said after Tuesday’s game. “If he sees something, he’s not in the third base box anymore, he can just get the offense together right away and let us know his thoughts on [the situation] instead of having to call time and say something.”
Junior outfielder Garrett Wright didn’t personally notice much difference with the coaching change, but he understood how it could help other players, especially the young core.
“I know it gives a lot more people the ability to ask him questions during the game with him in there, and he’s more of a part of the team in the dugout,” Wright said.
Tennessee struggled in its home series against LSU the following weekend after the initial change, but Elander gave it more time. In their series in Starkville against No. 9 Mississippi State, the changes seemed to start paying off. Tennessee swept Mississippi State and came home fired up.
The players have continued to praise the move, which has allowed for better communication as planned and additional perspectives throughout the game.
“Having him in there, it’s just somebody else to talk to,” Wright said. “Just having another input on what you’re seeing, it really helps.”
Sophomore shortstop Manny Marin, who is batting .421 during a five-game hit streak, has given credit to the new coaching arrangements.
“Coach [Elander] being in the dugout helps a lot for sure,” Marin said.
Marin has spent a lot of time in the batting cages with new associate head coach Chuck Jeroloman, but says that having the “dynamic duo” of Elander and Jeroloman is super beneficial.
“Just both of them relaying to you what you’re about to get into helps a lot,” Marin said.
Elander also feels like it has made managing baseball games that much easier.
“Instead of being at third base trying to worry about an outfield arm, now I’m saying, ‘OK, if we score two, let’s go to this guy,’ and I can easily get the bullpen going,” Elander said.
Elander also greatly appreciates the ability to communicate directly with the hitters, specifically throughout the game.
“I love just being able to… sit there with Reese [Chapman] or Manny [Marin] comes over and, you know, we would have a little conversation, the different shape of the break, or ‘what’s the cue to make sure we get one that we can really drive,” Elander said. “It’s just easier to kind of manage the whole game and that’s what I need to do.”
Tennessee faces another test this weekend as it hosts Ole Miss. The question remains whether the recent coaching adjustments are truly paying off, or if last weekend’s success in Starkville, Mississippi, was simply a one-off performance.
