Bryan Price’s impact in Major League Baseball did not go unnoticed.
Price is mulling to work part-time in a similar role at some point in the future, but has no immediate plans. Previously a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners coaching staff, Price still had two years remaining on his Phillies contract. As Montemurro notes, he became well-known in Major League Baseball for his pitching philosophy that combined analytics with a basic approach that included pitching in the lower part of the strike zone.
“His extensive time as a big-league pitching coach helped him connect with the Phillies pitchers,” Montemurro writes. “The starters, in particular, spoke highly of Price during spring training, their first hands-on opportunity to work with him.”
Bryan Price says he is ‘apologetic’ for walking away.
Price said that he would have liked to finish out his contract and see the Phillies return to their late 2000s, perennial postseason-contender form — particularly praised for their pitching. He added that he feels good about the team’s current rotation pieces, but that he just did not have the drive left in him to coach over the next two years.
“It’s just time. … When you know it’s time to go, you go. I have no reservations,” Price told reporters. “I wish I could have contributed more. The Phillies were great to me.
“I’m apologetic for not completing my contract. But they need the best version of whoever is in this job, and I’m more optimistic that will come from somebody other than me.”
Under Price, the Phillies had a Major League Baseball fourth-worst 5.20 combined ERA in 2020, a high figure mostly due to the bullpen struggling with its 7.06 combined ERA.
“You never know what’s in someone’s heart … He was great to work with,” Girardi told reporters. “The pitchers loved him. He connected with them extremely well.
“They don’t get any better than Bryan.”