Tech-savvy Maddon takes piece of paper over iPad in dugout

MESA, Ariz. – Just because Joe Maddon was one of the first in baseball to see the value in computers on the job – as a minor-league coordinator in the 1980s – doesn’t mean he sees the value of the iPad as an in-game managing tool in the dugout.

“This might sound nuts to you, but it might slow down the process,” the Cubs manager said, responding to MLB’s new deal with Apple that allows the digital presence in the dugout during games for the first time this season (sans online connection).

“If there’s that moment that permits time to look up something, it might be OK,” he said. “But I think that’s where the piece of paper has it all over the computer. In that moment.”

He’s not alone. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday he doesn’t plan to use the iPad in the dugout (though he seemed a little more tech-challenged in his reasoning).

“Listen, I’m all about it. I have an iPad Pro. Please, I’m not denigrating Apple or anything else right now,” Maddon said. “But when you’re trying to get something done quickly in the dugout, I want to believe that all that stuff should be in place prior to [the game].”

The Cubs, like the other teams, do exhaustive matchup research based on both team’s rosters and tendencies before games, distilling the information relevant to them on quick-glance notes and charts.

“I like my piece of paper in the dugout right now,” Maddon said. “That’s the old school component of me just bleeding right now.”