Mark Quinn talks about his new position with Orioles

On the day that Mark Quinn is introduced as the Orioles' new assistant hitting coach, it's important to spin back the dial to 2000, his rookie season with the Royals and a conversation with Brady Anderson that changed his life.

Anderson was playing his next-to-last season with the Orioles. Quinn was headed to a third-place finish in Rookie of the Year balloting in the American League.

In baseball's small world, they briefly were teammates in 2003 with the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in Portland - the last 23 games Anderson would play before retirement.

They became friends and workout partners. And now they're back in the same organization.

Anderson currently serves as the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations, and he contacted Quinn about the assistant hitting coach position.

"Brady and I first met while playing against each other," Quinn said. "I was running sprints before our game in the outfield and Brady came over to me and shook my hand. Some of these players like Brady, I'm still kind of like, I can't believe I'm playing on the same field as these guys. He said some very kind words about me, about how I go about my business, and he really liked how I swung the bat and how I played the game and learning how to deal with the media. He didn't have to say these things. I gained a lot more respect for him then.

"And then somehow we crossed paths again in the minor leagues after we both got shipped to Triple-A with the Padres. We played together for a month there and talked and realized we lived in L.A. in the offseason. So we're like, shoot, at the end of the year, let's try to hook up because I'm always looking for someone to hit with. Well, I had no idea what I was getting into. Brady Anderson knows more about the human body and training and diet than any person I ever met and ever talked to. When I got around him in the offseason, lifting weights and working out with him - the track workouts, sprinting workouts - I felt like I got around a guru, somebody that knows more than anybody in the business. When he reached out to me for this job, knowing that he's been there for so long, he implemented his traits into the training, the diet, I knew it was a very special place for him to dedicate all of his time to. I was definitely willing to go on the interview.

"Brady and I have played against each other, played together, worked out together and we've known each other for quite a while."

Quinn owns a highly profitable baseball academy in Houston, so the decision to jump back into the major league grind wasn't a simple one.

"Brady called me and wanted to hear some of my general approaches to hitting, and after we talked for 30-45 minutes the first time, evidently he liked what he heard and wanted me to come for an interview," said Quinn, who played in the majors from 1999-2002.

"To be honest, in the beginning, I was a little skeptical. I built a very successful business in Houston and I didn't know what a professional coaching career entailed. Obviously, I know the travel as a big league player, but I really wanted to get around guys that want to be the best at their craft and I think I can help. That's the message I related to Brady was, I'm prepared now to enter professional coaching. And I told him, I don't think I was quite ready to be a coach as soon as I quit playing, but now after doing what I've been doing the past eight years, I feel more prepared to be a hitting coach now."

Here's more from Quinn:

On why the job interested him: "To further my experience as a hitting coach. I've been teaching hitting in Houston for the past eight years. What I expressed to Buck (Showalter) is I've learned so much more about hitting since I finished my professional career by being involved in it for hours on a day to day basis. I want to help at the big league level, I think I can help at the big league level. The game has changed a little bit. There's a lot more on the analytical side, more video, advanced scouting, and I would love to just dive into that and see where I can help."

On what he's learned since his retirement: "I learned how to approach failure a little bit better. I know there's differences as far as preparation and the mental attitude toward hitting might change from say a college kid to a big league guy. But they're very similar in the fact that hitting is a very offensive position. It's kind of a selective aggressiveness. The body is going to be moving in a very violent manner, and a good athletic base and balance are the key to success. Obviously, there's a lot that goes into pitch recognition, but since I've taken myself out of the batter's box, I just kind of gained some new perspective on how to go about preparation on a day to day basis, on how to analyze failure and how to pick up on things a lot quicker than when I was actually in the batter's box."

On whether he can pass along lessons learned from his playing days: "Yeah, and that's how we go through life. We have to learn from our failures. And for me, my body just gave out on me. It started with a hamstring. I tore a hamstring completely in half, and when you're a hitter and you don't have your legs, you don't trust your hands and your whole swing changes and you start to not trust anything. I want to relay that message to the guys. It's not just hitting. There's a lot that goes into being prepared and getting in that batter's box in a positive state of mind. From the timing of your meals to your weight workouts, your stretching and flexibility.

"I also want to relay to these guys that, I know there are some guys locked up in long-term contracts, but there are a lot of guys that aren't, and I really want to get across to the players that this is not a career, it's an opportunity, and you have to make the most of the time you have. It could be a small window. It could be another year. But take it from me, you never know when it could be over. In my mind, as a big league player, you have success the first couple of years, I thought I was comfortable. I was in it. But one injury forced me out of the big leagues and it was a scratch and claw to get back, and it was a compound of injuries that kind of kept me out of the big leagues. So my advice to these guys is to take every at-bat and every game and every day like it is a very precious thing to be a big league baseball player. Give it all you've got now, because there might not be a tomorrow."

On his familiarity with the hitters and how to get up to speed: "From a statistical standpoint, that's the only background I have right now. As soon as Brady started talking to me, the first thing I started looking at was stats and that's all I have to go on because living in Houston, obviously I'm an Astros fan, so I've been going to Astros games. Now that my focus has shifted, spring training is when I get to know the guys. I told Buck the best hitting coaches are the guys who really watch and study the hitters and figure out when they're having success, you've got to lock that into our minds. We've got to write it down, we've got to know it. When a guy starts to fail, we've got to have some direction to get them back.

"I want to watch guys hit, I want to get a feel for them, I want to listen to guys talk. They may not be speaking to me, but I want to hear what the hitters are saying, I want to hear how they prepare, I want to hear what their game plan is in an at-bat. I know the fundamentals of baseball, and the fundamentals are you have to put the ball in play. Looking at it from a statistical standpoint, strikeouts look like they've kind of crippled some of the situations that are conducive to scoring runs.

"You take the Kansas City Royals, for example. Their motto is to put the ball in play. The teams that strike out, my first thought is, 'How are we getting to two strikes? How are we putting ourselves in a position to strike out? Are they swinging at bad pitches, are they taking good pitches?' I know there's a lot that goes into it.

"In the beginning, my main goal is just to get acclimated to Buck's system. What is Buck's game plan, how does Buck communicate to the hitters, how does Scott (Coolbaugh) communicate to the hitters? And then if they ask for my feedback, I will be prepared and I'll have my answers. So there's going to be a lot of quiet evaluation on my part in spring training on watching guys, watching their path of the ball, watching their setup, looking at their balance, making sure their head stays down. There's a lot that goes into it. I want to see guys hit a lot, and that's how I think I'll be able to help. Get a feel for the guys and watch them swing every day and then watching them in game situations."