Molitor says he's "old-school" about notion of iPads in dugout

BALTIMORE – If Opening Day is like Christmas for baseball players, maybe it's appropriate that the Twins received some shiny presents this weekend.

Major League Baseball, in partnership with Apple, delivered eight new iPad Pros to each team, along with permission to use the $799 devices in the dugout and bullpen this season.

"We've been talking about this for three, four years now, and we finally made it a reality," said Twins General Manager Terry Ryan, who participated in several conference calls regarding their use.

Under an agreement announced Wednesday, MLB and Apple will allow the devices to be loaded with player information, statistical and analytical information and scouting videos, using each team's own proprietary systems. The iPads don't have Wi-Fi capability, and information cannot be added during the game.

"For now, it's more for the coaching staff than it is for the players. We're trying to get to where we're not carrying these huge three-ring binders," said Sean Harlin, Twins director of major league video, who is in charge of loading the iPads before each game. "The NFL has been using technology for a while, and baseball has been looking for ways to incorporate it in to the game."

Twins manager Paul Molitor isn't opposed to the use of technology, he said, but "I am personally choosing not to use mine for in-game data. … I'm not a firm believer that when a pitcher is coming in, I need to see him" on video.

But Molitor's coaches, particularly bench coach Joe Vavra, who usually handles the Twins' scouting information during games, and hitting coach Tom Brunansky will be armed with the iPads, testing them out this week to see how useful they might be.

"There are spray charts for defense, and if a reliever comes into the game, Bruno can take a quick look, just review what he's already seen," Harlin said. "I don't know how much the players will use them, but we're looking into possible uses."

Molitor isn't necessarily a fan of viewing video during a game; when players do it, he said, "it's usually about whether you got [cheated] or not" by an umpire's call. "I might be old-school, but I think if you watch the game and keep track of memories from past experiences with pitchers [video may be unnecessary]. It can be too much at times," Molitor said. "You don't want your team to run off the field and everyone runs up to the clubhouse. In fact, we try to discourage that at times."

Ryan knows that most projections say his team will finish fourth or fifth in the AL Central. Ryan couldn't be more definitive Monday: He disagrees.

"I've said it, and I'll say it again: I do think we're a playoff-caliber club," Ryan said of a Twins team that went 83-79 in 2015, good for second place in the division. "This is a good ballclub, and we ought to be pointing to that type of ceiling. … We ought to be looking to win our division."

The Twins' next two games will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time, with temperatures expected to reach only the high 40s Thursday. But don't expect Molitor to use the cold weather as an excuse. He sees it as a challenge.

"I've always thought it's a measure of your mental strength," said Molitor, whose playing career in Milwaukee included many frigid nights. County Stadium, in fact, "was a cold park, and the grass was long and the ball didn't carry" in cold weather, he said. "As a player, you had to find ways to get hits. You eliminate certain things to try to find ways to get hits. Quickness in bat speed, whatever it may be."