Major League Baseball

College coach hopes to serve up homers to Orioles' Trey Mancini in Home Run Derby

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 9:46 p.m. ET

By Jake Mintz
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Editor's note: With college coach Chuck Ristano pitching to him, Orioles star Trey Mancini made it to the final of the 2021 Home Run Derby, hitting a total of 59 home runs in the process. This is the story of how they ended up competing together in Denver.

DENVER — How do you choose who should pitch to you in the Home Run Derby?

Most players want someone they’re very familiar with, a coach or batting practice pitcher they see every day before games during the season. The thought process here is simple: When the lights are brightest and you’ve got to hit 25 home runs in front of a packed house on national TV, you want someone you know, someone you trust.

Some players opt for a more familial approach and fly a relative out to throw to them in the Derby. Kris Bryant brought his dad. Bryce Harper did, too. Robinson Canó’s dad, José, threw to his son all four times he participated. Pete Alonso won in 2019 with his cousin throwing to him.

But for Orioles slugger and 2021 Derby participant Trey Mancini, the thinking behind who would throw to him in the contest revolved around a promise almost a decade in the making.

Way back in 2012, as a sophomore at Notre Dame, Mancini competed in the Big East conference’s home run derby. He won it handily. Throwing to him that evening was a gentleman by the name of Chuck Ristano, Notre Dame’s volunteer assistant coach at the time.

Now, nine years later, Ristano will be Mancini’s pitcher for the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday at Coors Field. (Watch the MLB All-Star Game, beginning at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday on FOX).

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"Yeah, this is admittedly a bit more of a big deal than the last one," Ristano joked over the phone to FOX Sports. Now the Fighting Irish’s pitching coach, Ristano called in from a busy day on the recruiting trail to explain how he ended up being Mancini’s pick to throw in the Derby.

"After he won it in 2012, we always tongue-and-cheek joked about, ‘Ah, man, if you get to the big leagues, like, you’ll call me,'" he said. "As he continued to rise through minor-league baseball and become a bona fide big leaguer and borderline All-Star, we kinda continued to joke about it. Anytime we talked to each other, it would come up. He’d always say, like, ‘If I do it, you’re the guy.'"

Ristano admits that while he and Mancini don’t chat regularly, they definitely keep in touch and the Derby promise would come up often. So when Mancini, who missed all of last season while undergoing treatment for colon cancer, accepted the league’s offer to be in the 2021 Derby, he phoned Ristano and let him know that the job was his if he wanted it.

"I was in Atlanta, in the airport on the way back from a recruiting trip, and I got a phone call from Trey. He asked me, and I was like, ‘Yes, of course, are you sure?’ He said, ‘100 percent. We always said you’d do it, so you’ll do it,'" Ristano said. "That’s the kinda guy Trey is. It takes the whole flight to digest it. By the time I got off the flight, the cat's out of the bag, and I told my boss and my wife and started to get really excited about it and admittedly really nervous about it."

Of the eight big leaguers in this year’s event, Mancini is the only one collaborating with a batting practice thrower who does not travel with his team. Defending champ Alonso and hometown favorite Trevor Story are both bringing their bench coaches. Matt Olson and Juan Soto are using their hitting coaches, Joey Gallo is working with his third-base coach, and Salvy Perez is going with the Royals' specialty BP pitcher. It’s absolutely magnificent that Shohei Ohtani is having his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, catch, but he’ll be hitting off Angels bullpen catcher Jason Brown.

For Ristano, Mancini’s decision to invite someone he made a promise to almost a decade ago is indicative of Trey’s character.

"I’m obviously touched and flattered, and we’ve maintained a close relationship since he was in school," he said. "Just a genuine guy. He honestly truly is like that. He doesn’t seek attention, but he’s not uncomfortable with attention. But you know, he’s a big leaguer, he’s got his own life, he just beat cancer. You wanna stay connected, but you don’t wanna suffocate the guy because everyone wants a piece of him these days. But he’s just a good dude. Same guy I knew when he was 18 years old."

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The downside to this beautiful reunion is that Mancini and Ristano are at a pretty severe competitive disadvantage. All the other Derby contenders have been practicing with their throwers all week before big-league games. Ristano, on the other hand, has been grinding out on the recruiting trail, trying to get the Fighting Irish, who were a win away from the College World Series this year, over the hump.

"It’s so funny, man. I’m watching nothing but baseball right now, but with the risk of committing flagrant recruiting violations, I can’t be throwing BP to these high school guys right now," he said.

Ristano said he returned home to South Bend on Friday and spent the afternoon practicing his batting practice by throwing to other members of the baseball staff because there aren’t any players on campus over the summer. But the 11-year coach isn’t a stranger to throwing batting practice. Ristano, who is left-handed, has been tossing for his entire tenure at Notre Dame and throws pregame whenever the Fighting Irish are facing a left-handed starter.

"Consistency is the key to good BP, finding the right tempo for the hitter," he said. "I admittedly work a little fast — our hitters here will tell you that. Generally, you want to work at a pace the hitter is comfortable with."

Perhaps that experience might help Monday, but the coach is realistic about the unique environment he’ll experience in Denver.

"I think the biggest crowd I’ve thrown in front of was probably pregame in Starkville, pregame in a postseason game or LSU for opening weekend," he said. "But that's so different because no one is actually watching me. … Yeah, it’ll be a pretty heavy contrast. Definitely not used to throwing with a catcher without a shell."

But Ristano isn’t just showing up to Denver for a good time and a participation trophy. Make no mistake: He’s in it to win it. They won that Big East derby back in 2012, and they intend to bring the W home again. So while Mancini is busy, you know, being a major-league baseball player, Ristano has been diving deep into the analytics to find any edge he can to help Trey win.

"I will tell you: I have a tab up on my laptop right now with the Baseball Savant page for Trey, looking at where he does his best damage. Like, his best slugging against left-handed pitchers," he said. "Up in the zone seems to be the hot spot. I’m definitely prepared, and I’ve done my research. Whether or not I can deliver in the moment is a different story. I am taking it very seriously."

Jake Mintz is the louder half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.