Why Orioles infielder Coby Mayo worked with a pitching coach

Down the right field line at Camden Yards a few weeks ago, three coaches hovered around Coby Mayo. Two made sense: Miguel Cairo and Buck Britton. They oversee the Orioles’ infield defense together.

The third, at least at first, seemed out of place. He was assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer.

When considering Plassmeyer’s job revolves around throwing a baseball, however, it makes sense he was there with Mayo. The trio of coaches worked Mayo through his throwing mechanics. With a weighted ball in his hand, Mayo slowed down his process — right foot forward, then right arm rising to his ear, his shoulders and hips rotating, and finally releasing his throw as his left foot strides forward.

The drills, which Mayo said lasted a few days, reinforced his mechanics on routine plays. When the third baseman is on the move, his athleticism takes over and his throws are often more precise. But when he has time to think? Perhaps conversely, that’s when issues have more often risen.

“I think my slow rollers, the balls coming in, I’ve been really good at,” Mayo said. “It’s just the routine ones, when I have time, my arm can get a little long, so that’s why we did it for a little bit, just kind of reteach the brain.”

In the outfield, a fielder’s arm path should be longer than an infielder’s. For the strength needed to fire a ball hundreds of feet at times, the full windup is better. But in the infield, where a rapid release and accuracy are the most important characteristics, the arm path should begin near a fielder’s ear.

With Plassmeyer’s experience working on pitching mechanics, he assisted in the drill work — aiming to keep Mayo’s body compact, his arm path shorter.

“I think, when guys are going through any kind of struggle with how their body is moving, it’s just trying to find something that makes sense to them and clicks,” Plassmeyer said. “On the pitching side, guys go through a lot of different drills, a lot of different rhythm patterns, stuff like that. For me, it was just kind of identifying a couple things that might click.”

The refresh came after one of Mayo’s most difficult moments this season. In Miami in early May, he bobbled a hard grounder. When he corralled the ball, his arm path was long. His throw short-hopped first base and bounced away for a game-ending error, with the winning run scoring.

When Mayo has less time, Plassmeyer said, his throws seem more natural. But having a beat to think on a routine grounder can throw him off rhythm.

“Get that hand up quick and let the body take over and rotate like he normally does,” Plassmeyer said. And Mayo hasn’t recorded an error since that day in Miami.

Occasionally this season, Mayo figures he and Plassmeyer will have another session to refresh his throwing mechanics. It was unusual seeing a pitching coach working so closely with an infielder. But, when it comes to throwing mechanics, it makes sense.