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Blue Wahoos New Hitting Coach Settles Into Pensacola 

Ocala native in his second year with the Twins
Blue Wahoos hitting coach Ryan Smith moved with his wife to Pensacola in March and has settled in as a resident waiting out decision on season.
June 8, 2020

As new member of the Blue Wahoos coaching staff, hitting coach Ryan Smith has another distinction. He’s been the only one actually in Pensacola since March, after the severity of the coronavirus pandemic caused a March 12 shutdown of Major League Baseball spring training. It has since placed all levels

As new member of the Blue Wahoos coaching staff, hitting coach Ryan Smith has another distinction.

He’s been the only one actually in Pensacola since March, after the severity of the coronavirus pandemic caused a March 12 shutdown of Major League Baseball spring training. It has since placed all levels within the sport into an uncertain future this season.

Smith, an Ocala native, who turned 27 on May 11, traveled from the Minnesota Twins training complex in Fort Myers and settled into a Pensacola residence with his wife and their dog. Like everyone else involved in affiliated professional baseball, he has stayed busy while at home, using virtual training and video conferencing to keep a semblance of routine.

“Normally this time of year, my wife and I would not see each other this much,” said Smith, who is in his second year as member of the Twins organization. “So, from that standpoint, it’s really been a blessing.”

While resumption talks continue within MLB, no one knows for sure when, or even if there will be a Blue Wahoos season in 2020.

Smith has tried to maintain a positive outlook amid a clouded scenario and looked for ways to succeed as a coach without having players or games.

“There really is no other way to look at it,” Smith said, during a late-April visit to Blue Wahoos Stadium to check out the completed clubhouse renovations. “You can look at this and say, ‘This (stinks)… we did all this work and now we have to stop.’ Which doesn’t really give you anything positive out of it.

“Or you could challenge yourself to use this time to spend on things you normally would not get to do. For me, that’s meant time with family…. more time to dig into learning Spanish… and learning deeper stuff about your players.

“There are so many learning opportunities. That’s the way I’m trying to go about it.”

Smith has some prior connections to Pensacola. He spent his final two collegiate playing years as outfielder for Valdosta State University in 2015 and ’16. The Blazers competed against the University of West Florida in the Gulf South Conference.

As a senior in 2016, Smith started in 40 of the team’s 44 games and was named to the GSC All-Academic team. Prior to joining VSU, Smith played two junior college seasons at the College of Central Florida in Ocala.

His high school alma mater, Ocala Forest, played against Pensacola prep teams in a variety of sports in state playoff competition.

Smith spent two seasons as assistant coach at the College of Central Florida, before the Twins hired him before the 2019 season as hitting coach for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Kernels, their Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League.

Smith helped lead the Kernels to a post-season appearance last season and first-round playoff series win. The team’s 109 home runs in 2019 were second-best in the 16-team Midwest League.

Several of those players from Cedar Rapids last year were competing for 2020 elevation to the Blue Wahoos when spring training shut down.

“That’s probably been the toughest part for the players,” Smith said. “They have put in all this work in the offseason and guys made so many good strides in spring training and they don’t get to see those come to fruition.

“But on our (coaches) end, you just try to say, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. Whenever we get on the field it’s going to show. Don’t be disheartened. You will get the chance.’

“It’s a matter of staying positive and keep pushing even though it’s easy for everyone to think all this stuff was for nothing. But that’s not the case. Eventually it’s going to show.”]

More than two months have now passed since Smith was last on a field with players and fellow Blue Wahoos coaches, led by manager Ramon Borrego.

He said the Twins organization has tried to make use of the down time in different ways.

“It’s given us the time to take deep dives into things and challenge how we do things and look at things differently,” he said. “Almost like trying to find new creative solutions to different problems. I think it’s been productive, honestly.”

The only ways to coach players have been through Zoom video calls, text messages and emails with training outlines.

“It’s tough,” Smith said. “You have to be creative, number one. That’s kinda what we are challenging (players) to do. Find a way to do things we were doing at spring training. It has challenged us to get more creative and more efficient with way we do drill work.

“The first is to identify with players: what do you have access to? Some guys have everything they need and field access, and other guys only have a garage and a (batting) tee. So, you take all that into account.”

And whenever baseball resumes?

“I think it will be pretty electric,” Smith said. “All that pent-up energy they’ve put towards something is going to be out there and it’s going to be explosive.”