June 14, 2024
Catcher Robert Brooks joined the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization on June 8th as a free agent signing. Brooks, who is confident in his ability to manage a pitching staff, is putting that skill to good use with High-A Vancouver.
“Yeah, no doubt, I think every day you spend in a clubhouse, and every day you spend in affiliate pro ball you realize you belong there and that you should be there, that builds confidence,” explained Brooks. “And then having these pitchers have confidence in your ability as well, that really helps. I’ve definitely had good conversations with every pitcher on the team, just to try and gain their trust, as they gain mine as well, that’s really big for me. If the pitcher trusts the call you put down, that goes a long ways and gaining that confidence. It’s going to take time on both ends – my end and their end, but I’m really excited with where it’s heading.”
Another thing Brooks is working on is his game calling ability, “Game calling is definitely an interesting topic because you’re coming into a new pitching staff and a new team that has done it their own way for a really long time,” stated Brooks. “Right now, I have a little bit to learn on how these guys like to call games, what pitches they like to throw ahead of counts, behind of counts, putaway pitches, stuff like that. Once I learn how these guys like to throw, that’ll help me a lot, that’s going to take time, but I’m really confident in my ability to learn that and for these pitchers to start trusting my game calling.”
Brooks is currently 1-for-7 at the plate for High-A Vancouver.
Welcome to the organization, Robert Brooks!