Playtime in the bullpen: How relief pitchers bring the energy every night

If you've ever looked over at the bullpen during a baseball game and wondered, "What's going on over there?" you are not alone. Relief pitchers are only used every couple of days and only for two or three innings at a time. Which begs the question, what are these guys doing when they're not pitching? The answer is simple: Anything and everything. "You have to find different ways to stay locked into the game," said Lincoln Potters reliever Logan Bell. "For me, in the first five innings the hat's off. I'm not even thinking about throwing in a game. Once we get to innings five and six, I start to move around. I put my hat back on, I'll head down to the bullpen and start going through some of my stretches and staying loose." When he's not warming up in the bullpen, Bell is in the dugout mingling and serving as a hype man for the crowd and his teammates. "At the end of the day, it's a kid's game so I try not to take myself too seriously. I just try to find different ways to stay locked in," Bell says. "When we're in the field, we like to tell everybody around how many outs there are, including the umpire sometimes too just to get a laugh out of them. I just try to spend my time making people happy. At the end of the day, you only get each day once so let's just have some fun with it." When Bell is on the field, he is as serious as they come. He was one of the most efficient arms in Lincoln's bullpen with 19 strikeouts and a 1.72 ERA in 14 appearances this summer. When Bell is finished on the mound, it's back to finding creative ways to try to energize his team. "We had a makeshift WrestleMania once. One of our player's walkup songs is the John Cena song so it kind of sparked our interest a little bit," Bell said. "One day, in between innings, we decided to set up people as ropes and mimic a wrestling match. The ultimate vibe of the bullpen is just to keep the energy up and have some fun." Closing pitcher Nolan Thiebay can often be found right by Bell's side throughout the game. The duo feed off of one another and even share a variety of handshakes and celebrations they use in different situations throughout the game. Theibay knows that while he may only be used an inning at a time and may not pitch in every game, he can still make an impact. "The biggest way I can help my team is by keeping the energy up in the dugout, especially in the dog days of the season," Thiebay said. "Sometimes, the energy can be a little bit low because the season is a grind when you play every day. I've always been told that it's a pitcher's responsibility to keep the good energy up in the dugout and just make sure everything's positive." Theibay's situation as a closer is unique for relievers. While he is able to have fun with his teammates, he knows that when he is called on in the ninth inning, he has to bring the intensity and preserve a victory for his squad. "You have to find a way to flip the switch. That's something I've kind of gotten pretty good at over the years is making the transition from being the goofy vibe guy to the focused, intense closer," Theibay said. Theibay has multiple go-to moves to help fire up his guys, but which one he turns to depends on the feel of things at the time. "I'll go around with my water bottle and pretend to fill up with juice to let our guys know to bring the juice and fire them up. Sometimes, when we are too quiet we will tell guys it's a library here," Theibay said. "It just kind of depends. A lot of the time I just get a little rowdy and I go into certain parts of the dugout and start chirping. You just have to have a feel for the game and feel for the team and all of the factors that go into it." Theibay says he wears his role of being a clubhouse favorite as a badge of honor and takes it seriously. He wants to be the first to celebrate when someone scores a run and the first one to offer a pat on the back after they make an error. "I've always been the positive guy, even when times are down. I love picking guys up," Theibay said. " Baseball is a very humbling game. It's important as a teammate to make sure that you still contribute even when you are not playing." Bell and Theibay's energy this season did not go unnoticed. Every year, the Potters give the Larry Wyatt Award to players that have made the most impact in the clubhouse and creating a positive culture off the field. Bell and Theibay were given the award alongside Zach Chamizo.