What Logan Webb told ex-Giants teammate Blake Snell to improve his pitching originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Former Giants pitcher Blake Snell has been electric for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 MLB Postseason.
Snell has been one of baseball’s best starters in the postseason with a 3-1 record and 2.42 ERA. In his three starts prior to the World Series, Snell logged at least 6.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts in each game, including an eight-inning gem in Game 1 of the NLCS in which he allowed just one hit and struck out 10 batters.
Struggling with high walk totals and pitch counts early in his career, Snell never went more than 5 2/3 innings pitched in a postseason game before this season. That all changed when he teamed up with Giants’ ace Logan Webb.
“Going to San Francisco, that’s where I learned how to pitch,” Snell said in an interview with TNT’s pregame show after his NLCS gem. “I was around Logan Webb, and man, he’s going seven innings, it’s like every game he’s going seven innings. And I just would talk to him — how are you doing it, what are you thinking of?”
Webb, speaking with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins on MLB’s “The 6-11 Podcast”, explained the advice he gave Snell during his short stint in San Francisco.
“I think the biggest thing was I just said, ‘You’re too good to not be in the zone at all times,’” Webb said. “He’s [6-foot-4] lefty throwing high-90s, unbelievable stuff. I was like, ‘I think you can still get as many strikeouts as you do, but maybe just be attacking the zone a little more.’ In his eyes, I think that was the one thing he wanted to get better at.”
In his 2023 season with the San Diego Padres, Snell posted a career-high 13.3 walk percentage. That lowered to 10.5 percent in his next season with the Giants and decreased further this year with the Dodgers at 10.2 percent.
“There’s not much [to improve] — he’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner,” Webb noted. “But it was fun to see him really embrace that and really try to keep getting better at that. And you see that right now when he’s pitching. He’s going deep into games.”
It’s clear that Snell has taken Webb’s advice to heart, and it’s paying off in October when it matters most.
“That year in San Fran was so big for me just being around Logan and learning how to pitch,” Snell said. “All of that together [including seasons in Tampa Bay and San Diego] has just kind of crafted me into the pitcher I am today. And I feel like I’m getting better, I’m learning more, I’m reading swings – I’m just obsessed with the game.”
Webb is happy that his advice is helping his former teammate.
“People were talking about how he’s never thrown a complete game before … he just wanted to prove people wrong,” Webb said. “And he’s done it. It’s fun for me to watch. It’s not fun for me to watch him do it for the Dodgers. As a former teammate of his — [he’s] a guy I truly just love – it’s cool to see him do his thing.”
The Toronto Blue Jays got to Snell en route to an 11-4 win over the Dodgers in World Series Game 1, but Los Angeles was able to tie the series with a Game 2 win.
If given the chance, Snell will look to get some payback by shutting down the Blue Jays’ lineup later in the series.
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