Chatting with Sam Greene | Blue Jays Assistant Pitching Coach

Blue Jays assistant pitching coach Sam Greene stopped by the Maple Leafs Broadcast booth on Saturday night to talk about his days a Leaf and life as a coach.

Sam Greene spent three season with the Maple Leafs organization before getting his job with the Blue Jays and helping them reach the World Series in 2025 vs the LA Dodgers.

Enjoy Thomas West's interview with Sam Greene during the Maple Leafs broadcast as they took on the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers.

Transcript

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Alright, back here at Dominico Field. Pleased to be joined by Sam Green, the assistant pitching coach of the Toronto Blue Jays. And of course, many fans will know you, Sam, as being a member of this Toronto Maple Leafs organization. How are you doing? I'm doing great. Happy to be here on a Saturday night catching a ball game. This is Drew Howard who popped this one up on the infield, and that's out number one. So it must have been a busy day for you. I mean, there were a lot of pitching changes in the Blue Jays game, and yet you you still found a way to make it here today. Yeah, I needed a little uh decompression after that game today. But um no, our guy our guys were awesome. Uh, you know, we we mapped out you know kind of typically how we do in a bull bullpen game like that, and when they go out there and they they do their job and execute like that, it's real fun to watch. Of course, Sam, I mean, this whole thing started with you here uh with the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club, whether you were a pitcher or you were the pitching coach while you were a pitcher on this team. But you know, I I know you have a lot of really great memories here in Toronto. Like you must get a little bit of nostalgia every time you come back to the show. Oh, dude, I I miss it. I, you know, I keep joking around if there's any kind of work stoppage for a lockout next year. We're coming back and we're pitching again. So um, you know, I as much as I love what I do now, I miss this a ton. Maybe you can uh bring along a couple friends from the bullpen as well. Yeah, maybe. We'll see. We'll see. Of course, we hope that uh we're playing baseball or that you're playing baseball again next year. Spencer Ross at the plate now, a one-and-one count from Dwayne Matos. I'm not sure if you've got a chance to watch any Maple Leafs baseball or you know, even just watching some of the guys out there today, but it's a full pro league. Oh, yeah. You notice anything different from uh when the last time you were here? More people, the speakers are louder, the broadcast setups even more legit. I mean, no, it's it just keeps growing from. I mean, I was my first year was 2022, and it's crazy year after year how much bigger and more, you know, more legit it's gotten. Sam, you know, I know I talked to you about this last year, but you know, I just feel like you know, the Canadian Baseball League or the Intercounty Baseball League when you you were here can just kind of be the starting ground for so many great things, Signal. When I think about you being the pitching coach, and then you know, I know you were still working with the Blue Jays at the time, but then ended up being the assistant pitching coach. Can you kind of talk a little bit about you know being with the Maple Leafs and how it kind of got you into the industry and got the start to where you are today? Yeah, no, I mean it it opened my eyes to a different way of looking at baseball. I mean, I moved to Toronto for a job with the Blue Jays in their research and development department at the you know, at the time I was still looking to play, I had the ability to play because I wasn't working full time, and I joined this league and you know it just grew my love for baseball even more. I mean, I was working you know during the day and coming playing baseball at night, and you know, getting to be around guys that played at a very, very high level, that some of the guys that play in the big leagues and triple-A and you know, Division I college, like getting to see what their work looks like day to day, and it taught me so much of that, you know, helped me be successful in in my career with uh with the Blue Jays. So it was you know an incredibly valuable experience. So this kind of seems to be like an annual thing where you're coming on the broadcast right around this time of the year, as long as the Blue Jays get that afternoon game when you can come out. But I I haven't talked to you since you know that crazy World Series run, and I know that must have been crazy, but you know, I I just want to kind of talk from you know, you you were at McMaster, right? When you McGill or McGill, when you when you got your start, you know, when you were a kid at McGill University or even here with the Toronto Maple Leafs, like did you ever think that you'd be you know sitting in the bullpen at at a World Series at some point in your life? I had, I mean, no, I I didn't even think I could, you know, the opportunity to be a major league coach was really an option. I wanted to grow within a front office, and I got you know, I was right place, right time, and grew within the Blue Jays, and they decided to give me a chance, Pete Walker, John Schneider, you know, the front office decided to give me a chance last year to be a you know like full-time coach on staff, and that team we had last year was magical. And you know, we're trying to recapture some of that this year. We it's a bunch of new faces, but you know, we're playing a little better and I'm uh you know hoping to make another deep run. But yeah, no, it was it was surreal, dream come true last year. I know this might be a tough question, and and you can give a general answer if you want, but what's kind of the the coolest thing about being down in there in the bullpen over the last couple of years? Watching these guys work every day, man. I mean they the amount of time and effort and seriousness they they put into you know their work every day is really really cool and incredible to watch. You have time for another half inning? Yeah, for sure. Okay, we'll keep it going here. Uh okay, something I've always wondered. Oh, there we go, we're on the broadcast. Something I've all I've always wondered. So, you know, down there in the bullpen, you know, you you get a chance to kind of chat with you know a whole bunch of different pitchers. You talk to some really cool starting pitchers that are on the team this year as well. Like, is there anyone in particular that's kind of been uh an interesting guy to talk to? Oh man, I mean I'm wearing a shirt right now. I got the Dylan C shirt on right now. Oh yes. You can see that that's my guy. Shout out my guy. Um I mean, what an incredible talent and so much, so much fun to work with this year. I mean, he he came in with an idea of what he wanted to do, and we had some ideas for him too, and he's just you know, he's worked his tail off to have just such an incredible year in his first year with us. He what's most impressive to me is just how good he wants to be. He wants to be so, so good, and he he's really, really done an incredible job for us this year. How do you get in the running to be the guy that slaps Louis Verland on the back when he comes in? I mean, that's Graham. I was Graham and I were talking about this earlier today. He got him good today, and that's because uh um me and Luke, who's another guy on the pitching staff, we were giving him uh some crap the other day about like, you know, you're hitting him, but you're not like slapping him, and he he's like, alright, so he really he really got him today. Louis even winced a little bit. Um but no, that that started Louis last year when we traded for him, was like, hey, you know, did anybody Velo slap me before the game? And Graham was like, I got in, and it's just been Graham since that. I did it, I did it one time. Um we were in Tampa and Pete Walker had to miss a game, and so Graham was the pitching coach, and so I was the bullpen coach, and so I had Louie for that one game. So I this is obviously something that that he is is asked people to do. Yeah, he he was doing it in Minnesota too. Yeah, he he started it there and he brought it over to us. Apparently they're doing it in the stands now too, is what I heard today. Like guys are just turning around getting VLO slaps and Louie Berlin's coming in, so it's become a pretty cool, uh pretty cool bit. That's really good. I'm I'm hoping they're going as hard as you guys do in the bullpen as well. So, you know, I I know you you had some really great seasons here with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Uh you still you still pitching? I play catch every day. Um, you know, I I throw I throw with Dylan every day and I throw with some of the relievers. Um But uh funny enough you say that. I don't know if I mean it'll it'll be on tomorrow, but we're doing a uh staff highest VLO competition tomorrow at Rogers Center to determine the players' uh fantasy football draft order. So I'm gonna get my arm ready for that. This one's lifted in the air by Owen Constantino. This ball is deep, and it's off the top of the wall. Dennis DeBanning is gonna throw this one in. It's a leadoff double for Owen Constantino. Where'd you get your VO up to? I don't know. It's start it's tomorrow, so I'll let you know how high I get, but I don't think it's as good as when I was pitching here. How did your ceremonial first pitch go? It felt weird. Honestly, it felt weird. I didn't Marcus was back there, I didn't really want to let it rip, uh, so I just kind of flicked it in there, missed a little high. One of my buddies took a video of it, sounded like someone booed me, so that's great. But uh, it was weird being out there. It brought back a lot of memories being back out on that mount. You know, I I remember I was at a game last year, I was with my family, and my family really wanted to wave to you in the stance. And you you spotted us out, but I think it was because of the Toronto Maple Leafs hat. I see a lot of them, man. I see a ton of them at Rogers Center. And throughout town. I mean, I'm wearing one right now. It's it's sweet gear. They've they've done a great job with that. This is always iconic logo. It sure is, yeah. You know, I you know, how special is it for you being a guy who you know played on this team and you know, you see so many people repping the Maple Leaf Sprint. It's cool, man. I some of my buddies that I'm here with tonight, it's their first time coming to a game in a long time, and you know, there's like even like Matt Domian series, our bullpen catcher, um, and he's he's looking around, he's like, This place rocks. He's like, this is just it's a special play. Heads up play there by Krick Taveris, the shortstop. He had no play at first base, is able to throw back the second. It ends up turning out really well as Owen Constantino is gunned down. So I know I know there's still a lot of players that you know on this team that you would have seen before. Did you get to catch up with any any old friends on the team? I talked to uh Rob for a while and I talked to Marcus. You know, there's been there's been a lot of turnover um since I was last here, but uh you know, Mark Marcus and Rob are really the only two guys still here. Uh DC's still catching, I think, right? I think I saw that. Yeah, yeah. Um but I guess he's not here tonight. But uh no, it was good to see Rob and Marcus, and Marcus caught the first pitch, so that was fun. Signed a ball for me. So that'll go on the mantle. Yes, I saw that right away as well. I knew you would get a kick out of that. Dionysius Shialtis, uh you've got a connection with him on the blue jays. I was hearing. He dude, he he comes in, so when we're on the road and we have uh rehab guys that need to throw bullpens, you know, guys that are injured and aren't on the road trips with us, uh, he comes in and catches our bullpen. So he he's been huge for us. It's been awesome to help us out. He's got Max, he's got Shane, he's got uh you know a bunch of big time uh major league arms. Yeah. Yeah, he was talking about catching Dylan Sees the other day, and he said he really liked him. And since you're wearing the shirt, I assume that you're a big fan of him as well. I I know uh you were good buddies with with Jeff Hoffman, you know. Yeah, you know, I I imagine that that was probably a tough one to see him go. That was tough, and uh, you know, we miss Hoff a ton. I miss I miss just having Hoff around and we miss him in the bullpen. Um but you know, all all the best to him with Minnesota, and you know, he's pitched well since getting over there. They got it, they got a great reliever there, so you know we miss him here, obviously, but wish him all the best. Yeah, I I know he was a guy that was a big part of the identity of the bullpen, and you know, I I was working the game today on the TV side, so you know, uh watching all the different relievers come in and basically outplay Cam Schlittler and the New York Yankees, and you know, it it must be fun because the the the the bullpen's kind of found its identity, right? Like, you know, we're going down the stretch here, the trade deadline is over. You know, what what's you know, how fun is it kind of being part of that camaraderie of the bullpen down? They've got a fun, awesome core there, and I mean, you know, Hoff was a leader of that, and he he taught a lot of the young guys a lot of what they know, and now you know Louie, Flew, Fish, Spencer Miles. We still have Captain Tyler Rogers, as we call him, you know, leading the charge down there, but these guys have just created such a good environment, and we've added new guys, you know, Matt Waldron, Paul Seawald, um Ricky Tieterman came up today. You know, it's it's just made it seamless to come in and out and do your job there, just the culture of that group. But uh what did you think of uh Ricky making his debut today? I know that's uh a long-awaited debut for everyone in that organization. Yeah, I was so happy for him, man. It was so awesome to see he's he's grinded through some injuries and you know some ups and downs, but what a talent, what a kid. I mean, he's been he's been awesome. I've known him as he's come up through the system and really, really happy for him today. He's gonna help us out down the stretch. Yeah. You mentioned uh Matt Walden. I I don't know how many pitchers you've seen throw a knuckleball, but you know, wait when that's something that you're scouting or you're looking through, like is that something that you approach kind of kind of differently? We we sat him down when we got him, we're like, hey, what do you got? Because we don't really know how to how to deal with this. But I will say Pete Pete Walker might be the most experienced big league pitching coach with knuckleballers. I mean R.A. Dickey for a couple years, right? So he he knows how to handle them and he's had some good conversations with Matt, and um, you know, we're we're learning Matt and learning how to kind of how we want to use the knuckleball and all that kind of stuff and how to use him. So but it's been a cool experience. Strike at the knees. Nakata guy's good. He is came from the Frontier League. He you know, that's one of the things I think that's changed so much this year is that everyone throws like mid-90s. I mean, he's throwing hard, yeah, yeah. Good stuff. Yeah. He's throwing gas out there, trying to get out of this inning here. 2-2 on Chernesky, the right fielder. And swung on and missed. That's a fork call, Sam. That's another one. That's another one that you'll have to put in the scatter grap turn. Hey Sam, uh, great to see you. Thanks so much for hopping on, and it's uh it's always a pleasure to see you. Thomas Goli's go. Okay, that's Sam Green, assistant pitching coach, former pitcher and pitching coach here on the Toronto May Police. We'll be right back.