Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
There’s Gabe Kapler, who was as polarizing as they come in Philadelphia, leading to his ouster after two seasons.
There’s Joe Espada, who worked his way through the Marlins system, stepped onto a bigger platform with the Yankees and has followed Alex Cora’s footsteps, using the Houston dugout as finishing school in hopes to graduate as a major league manager.
And then there’s the third known finalist to fill Bruce Bochy’s large shoes (and hat) as the Giants’ manager. Who is Pedro Grifol? His first quality, according to a Royals catcher who’s spent a lot of time with him, is intelligence.
“Wherever he ends up – if he’s back with us or in San Fran or wherever he is – that team’s going to get a lot better and a lot more knowledgeable just with him on the staff,” Cam Gallagher said over the phone Monday.
Grifol, at 49 years old, is the eldest of Farhan Zaidi’s finalists, another candidate with a background in hitting — he originally joined the Royals’ organization in 2013 as a batting coach. He had come from Seattle, where he spent 13 years in gigs varying from High-A manager to area scout to director of minor league operations.
With Kansas City, he’s most hailed for his work with Salvador Perez, an All-Star from 2014-18. Grifol, like Espada, was a lifetime minor leaguer, reaching as high as Triple-A before moving on following the 1999 season.
Gallagher, who has been up and down with Kansas City since 2017, first met the franchise’s catching/quality-control coach in 2015, as a young catcher trying to figure out the trade in spring training.
Since then, the glove-first backup has played in 80 games in the big leagues, relying heavily on the input from a coach he said is “one of the most knowledgeable guys” and who “knows the game inside and out.”
When the 26-year-old has a question — about how to hit off an opposing pitcher, about what sign he should be putting down behind the plate — Grifol is his first stop.
“He knows tendencies – before the game, he’d go up to me and be like, ‘Hey, this pitcher, maybe he’s tipping this pitch’ or, ‘This is what he likes to do with guys on base, look for this,’” Gallagher said. “All the inside information that goes a long way that you don’t really see.”
Grifol, from Miami, is well-liked by players for his communicative nature, No. 1 on Zaidi’s checklist for a potential manager. Also like Espada, Grifol is bilingual, often serving as translator for Spanish-speaking players. In catching rooms with Gallagher, from Pennsylvania, and Perez, from Venezuela, Grifol controlled the room and made sure everyone knew the message, Gallagher said.
“Especially the guys who were coming up and didn’t necessarily speak good English — maybe [they] were on the fence of going up to certain coaches or were a little nervous,” said the catcher who just finished his third big-league season. “Maybe afraid to go up and voice their opinion with some of the major league coaches. But [Grifol] would always get with the Latin guys and make them feel comfortable.”
Zaidi has emphasized the relationship a manager needs to have with him, with the front office, with the players, with the media. Someone who can absorb every bit of information given to him and communicate it to the people who next need to absorb it.
In Kansas City, Grifol has been lauded for working with both the analytics crew and those on the field. And while Grifol is most often complimented for his work with Perez, Gallagher gave him credit for Jorge Soler’s breakout 2019, in which the right fielder/DH exploded for 48 homers.
“He would help Soler a lot — he speaks good English, but obviously his primary language is Spanish. I think honestly Pedro had a big impact on Jorge’s season this year,” Gallagher said, adding Grifol is easy to deal with and approachable.
“[Grifol knows] what to look for — he’s just so knowledgeable about hitting, he knows pitching, and he definitely knows defense. He was a big help for both Latin and American guys.”