Mariners’ new manager helped Jeremy Peña become a WS MVP

Down 1-2 to Shohei Ohtani, Jeremy Peña changed his swing in the middle of the at-bat. Next pitch: single.

It was September 2022. Peña ditched his big leg kick and just hovered his front foot. Jason Kanzler, then an Astros coach, explained it to the Houston Chronicle: "It gets him closer to the ground so he can be in a more athletic hitting position more often and more on time."

That October, Peña was ALCS MVP and World Series MVP. As a rookie.

Then the Cubs hired Kanzler to run their entire farm system at 33. He went from knowing about 30 hitters to more than 300 players and staff. His goal: "a clear vision per player on what exactly needs to be done."

Now he's managing the Mariners, a team whose own homegrown hitters said the plan fell apart in the big leagues.

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