Guy Conti dies at 84. His teaching reached from the Mets bullpen to Pedro Martínez's changeup.

Guy Conti, the former Mets bullpen coach and special adviser who helped Pedro Martínez develop his changeup, has died at 84. Jay Horwitz announced Conti's death on Tuesday, October 13. Amazin' Avenue and J.P. Hoornstra's report for The Big Lead, carried by Yahoo Sports, also reported his death and age.

Conti coached the Mets' bullpen from 2005 through 2008, then continued in an advisory role. In his announcement, Horwitz remembered Conti's friendship with Sandy Koufax, his close relationship with Martínez and the stories he shared. Horwitz described a lengthy illness, but did not name a diagnosis. No specific cause of death is asserted here.

A pitch, and the teacher behind it

Martínez supplied a precise account of Conti's influence in a FanGraphs interview: his early changeup used a different grip, and Conti proposed a circle change to create more movement. Martínez credited his A-ball pitching coach with recognizing that his flexibility suited the adjustment.

Conti was careful about taking too much credit. In a 2009 Clarion University profile, he described changing Martínez's grip while emphasizing that the pitcher perfected the pitch and commanded it. That distinction is worth preserving. The teacher offered an answer; the player did the work that made it his own.

A career that crossed sports

Baseball was only part of Conti's coaching life. Clarion's profile traces his return to college to finish his education after a shoulder injury ended his professional playing career. He taught and coached baseball and football in Albion, Pennsylvania, then coached baseball, football and basketball at Edinboro. Work with the Pirates eventually led to the Dodgers organization, where he met Martínez.

The Mets bullpen gives fans a familiar place to remember him. The longer story runs through classrooms, smaller fields and the patient work of helping an athlete understand what he can do. Martínez's own account makes that contribution tangible: a coach saw a possible improvement, explained it and helped a gifted pitcher develop it.

Condolences to Conti's family, friends and the players and colleagues he taught. Memorial arrangements were not verified in the sources checked for this report.