A couple short years ago, Kevin Graber was leading Phillips Academy Andover—a prestigious prep school just north of Boston—through yet another banner season, where his teams would routinely compete for the Central New England Prep Championships. Graber was a mainstay at Andover, won multiple Central New England Prep Championships, sent dozens of players to the next level, and even cracked the Perfect Game National High School Top 25 for the first time, in 2021.
But Graber had aspirations of his own when it came to the next level. Before the 2023 season, he accepted a job with the Chicago Cubs, where he now serves as a coach and coordinator. Inside Pitch checked in with Graber, who spoke on the main stage at the 2022 ABCA Convention.
Inside Pitch: Had you always wanted to coach pro ball?
Kevin Graber: When it comes down to it, isn’t pro baseball the dream of nearly every baseball-obsessed kid? I had a taste early on, playing and then managing in independent ball in the mid to late ’90s, until family obligations pulled me toward coaching and administration at the collegiate and then prep school levels, with stops in college summer leagues along the way. So in a way, segueing back to pro ball this year feels a bit full circle—sort of like what’s old is new again. But yes, I’m certainly fulfilling a lifelong dream that began with my dad pitching batting practice to me in the backyard, and then afterward, watching our beloved Yankees each night on the black and white television in our family’s living room.
IP: Has the jump been significant based on your expectations?
KG: That’s the neat thing, I would say this experience has absolutely lived up to and even surpassed my expectations. The last decade of my coaching life has been spent mainly teaching, coaching players and mentoring assistants. Now, with the Cubs, I’m in an environment where I’m learning how things are done at the highest level on a daily basis. I’m surrounded by emerging technology, analytics and amazing players, coaches, and player development personnel. It truly is a kid-in-a-candy-store type scenario.
IP: What are some similarities/differences to your coaching approach from your early days of coaching to today?
KG: I’m much more empathetic and understanding than I was as a young coach. We all know, baseball isn’t easy. Players make mistakes. They strike out. They get picked off. They throw to the wrong base. I’ve learned that how you react as a coach when things are difficult is so crucial in establishing a relationship that truly allows players to learn and play to the best of their ability. When I began coaching, advice I received from a then coaching mentor was, “Friendly but not familiar. Let ’em know who’s boss.” Now, the advice I offer young coaches is, and I know it sounds cliché, but, “No one cares how much you know unless they know how much you care.” And I do truly care about each and every player I have the honor of sharing the field with. It’s been great for my mental health as well. When my head hits the pillow, knowing that not only did I give everything I had and coached to the best of my ability, but I also treated each and every player with respect and dignity that day—I sleep well at night knowing that. My goal every day is to go “undefeated” in how I treat people. I’ve found that when you take care of that, good things tend to happen.
IP: What are some of your “staples” in terms of philosophies or drills that you have learned directly translate from amateur to professional baseball?
KG: Along with Mike Roberts, Matt Talarico, and others, I’ve made an effort to be at the forefront of ushering in what some see as an emerging wave of new-school base stealing. Jump-lead steal breaks, shuffle-break steals, momentum leads, whatever you want to call it, the basic idea is for base stealers to gain momentum toward the next base and steal before a pitcher’s leg lift. It’s scary for some players, sure, but it’s also scary to many coaches out there. I’ll hear plenty of, “that’s not how we did it when I played,” or “they’ll just get picked off.” But what they fail to understand is this style of base stealing is just like hitting or turning a double play— if you don’t drill it and practice it, players won’t be very good at it.
IP: Can you break down how you go about practicing base stealing?
KG: I compare this style of base stealing to a plant—if you don’t water it with drill-work, instruction, and attention to detail, it’ll die, like a plant with no water. For me, the foundation is technique. Drill it, drill it and drill it some more until the technique is perfect. How we take leads, how we return to the base on pickoff attempts, how we shuffle, how we slide—all of it is so critical. Next, we focus on timing, distance, and anticipation, adding a little bit of each as training camp or fall ball progresses. And finally, encouraging players to let it rip during live reads and scrimmages, until it comes time for actual game play.
IP: What’s it like dealing with the risk/reward of stealing bases?
KG: One challenge I see is that coaches, by nature, are controlling. As a species, we coaches tend to be extremely conservative in the way we want runners to make decisions. In this new-school system, it’s up to the player, not the coach, to take off on a steal break, because only the player knows if he hit it right. I tell my guys all the time, “Hey, if timing, distance, and anticipation fall into place, if they give it to you, you take it!” Some coaches can’t live with that.
IP: What avenues did the ABCA provide to help you get to where you are today?
KG: I’ve leaned on the resources the ABCA provides throughout the entirety of my coaching career, but the turning point was when ABCA began archiving convention presentations online. For me, that was a game changer. So many times while writing practice plans, I’d log on to the ABCA website, click on a presentation or two, and “borrow” catching drills from Xan Barksdale, infield drill-work from Kai Correa, or base stealing stuff from one of my coaching idols, Mike Roberts. During my daily morning trail runs, I’ll pop in my headphones and zone out on an episode or two of the ABCA podcast. And of course I read every issue of Inside Pitch Magazine, cover to cover.
IP: What kind of ABCA Convention experiences can you share?
KG: There’s nothing like attending the ABCA National Convention in person. I’ve attended and presented at countless coaching clinics over the years, but quite frankly, nothing compares to the ABCA. And presenting on the main stage in 2022 at the Chicago Convention was literally a life-changer for me. The coaches I met, the contacts I made, and the light it shined on what and how I teach jumpstarted the recent ascension to where I am today in baseball.