How Torey Lovullo Forged a Bond with Geraldo Perdomo

There were times early on in Geraldo Perdomo's tenure as the Arizona Diamondbacks' shortstop that Torey Lovullo was especially tough on him. In fact it even took the young shortstop by surprise.

Lovullo relayed a story from earlier in Perdomo's career with the team.

"He was trying to protect one of his teammates. And what I saw, was the game inside of the game, and I understood what the play called for. I started to yell at him in the dugout and said quit trying to protect one of your teammates. I saw what happened."

"Why don't you speak on behalf of this infield because you're the leader of this infield. Do you understand what I'm asking you?

"And he kind of stood back, and he's like, wow, I think my manager sees me a little bit differently. And I need to answer this honestly, and he did that. Yeah, I got him right on the point."

It was this kind of tough leadership that Lovullo was demanding of his young shortstop, his captain of the infield.

While that might seem like a lot to put on a player, Lovullo knew what he was doing. That resulted in the 25-year-old being signed to a four-year, $45 million contract extension with a club option that could take him through 2030 with the team.

"I was very tough on him" Lovullo said. "I felt like there was a quality inside of him that he hadn't tapped into. And I was going to try and figure that out for him and help him figure that out. And he understood why today [extension announcement day] why I was so tough on him."

Speaking about this same topic last year, Lovullo said "I put a lot on him as the shortstop of our ball club. If I complain to one infielder, it's going to be him. If I complain to the group, I'm going to be talking to him. I have certain demands of him and I'm very critical of him. He's accepted that responsibility and I appreciate that."

Throughout the process of bringing Perdomo along, a bond between player and manager developed. It goes beyond just tough love however.

It's obvious from seeing them interact every day and how Lovullo speaks of Perdomo how he feels about him.

"I think every once in a while, I kind of move a little bit further with certain players because of what they're giving me. And I love all the players. Don't get me wrong. Gerry is just a very comfortable human being," Lovullo said.

At that same time, Perdomo showed he was fully accepting of the direction and teaching he was getting from his manager.

"He just likes to train me to be a better player," Perdomo said last September. "I feel like he knows and realizes what I can do and what I am going to become in the future. He's preparing my mentality for the future. That's why I love Torey. He treats me like his son. He doesn't treat me like a player, no, he treats me like his family."

Fast forward to this year, and Lovullo was advocating for Perdomo to receive a contract extension. According to Lovullo, he told Mike Hazen "there's a different layer to him that I get to see every day. He's a bridge type of player that I can go to and ask questions of any player in the clubhouse. He can have any type of conversation.

"These are things that I relay to Mike and I just told him, this is where we're at with this player. He's that special. He's a good player. And if we're ever thinking about locking somebody down, I would highly recommend it. And they took it from there."

Almost like a proud parent, Lovullo beamed with pride at how his protégé came through to earn the extension, not just for himself, but for everyone in the young shortstop's life.

"It's a great day for a lot of people. It's a great day for the organization. And I'm really proud of him for that."