Chicago Cubs: Appreciating Mike Borzello and his secret scouting reports

Chicago Cubs associate pitching, catching and strategy coach Mike Borzello is one of the unsung heroes of the team’s recent run of unprecedented success.

Mike Borzello is so much more than just a catching coach. Heading into his ninth season as a member of the Chicago Cubs coaching staff, he’s a jack-of-all-trades – a behind-the-scenes presence whose fingerprints are all over every game you watch.

His duties entail working with pitching coach, Tommy Hottovy and the Cub pitchers. This includes game planning with each pitcher on scouting reports and pitch sequence. Borzello can be seen in the bullpen but also in the video room trying to find ways to expose opposing hitter’s weaknesses. The clip you’ll see near the end of this piece from Cubs Productions titled “Between Starts” shows Borzello working with Kyle Hendricks on connecting the tendency of opposing hitters with Hendricks’ pitch repertoire.

Entering his 25th season as a big league coach, Borzello has had an incredible career thus far. He received four World Series titles as a bullpen catcher for the New York Yankees and worked in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for four seasons. He’s known as a coach who is direct and not afraid to confront pitchers on what they need to do to improve their skillset.