Wes Johnson is rarely seen sitting down. He stands in the dugout during games, often fidgeting as he watches his pitchers perform, ready to act at the first sign of trouble.
Twins pitchers have learned that Johnson will not hesitate to step in when he sees something amiss.
Actually, they have learned that Johnson will step in when everything is going well, too.
"He likes coming up to you, and it always seems like he has a little nervous energy," Twins righthander Kyle Gibson said. "And it's always in the middle of a start, he'll come up after every single inning and go, 'Hey, you need anything? Can I get you anything?' No, it's the second inning.
"It's just his personality. He's just trying to serve people."
And Johnson, 47, has served the Twins well in his first season as pitching coach. Eyebrows were raised when the Twins hired Johnson from the University of Arkansas because no pitching coach had made the jump from college to the majors. But Johnson was the progressive mind the Twins sought to reinvigorate their staff. And that is what has happened.
The Twins entered the All-Star break with the sixth-best ERA in baseball at 3.97. They also are fifth in fewest walks (255) and quality starts (42), sixth in on-base percentage allowed (.309) and ninth in opponents' batting average (.246). The Twins are talking with teams about adding pitching before the July 31 trade deadline, but the staff has been effective and a big reason why they hold a 5½-game lead over the Indians in the American League Central.
"[Johnson has] had an incredible impact," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Both with the pitchers, the work he does with them, and also in our clubhouse as well. He's a very unique guy in a lot of ways. He has tremendous knowledge. He has the ability to connect with people well. He's got a great personality. He brings a lot to the table. And I think we are very happy to have him here."