Simon Mathews Brings Fresh Vision as Washington Nationals’ New Pitching Coach

The Washington Nationals’ new pitching coach, Simon Mathews, is ushering in a philosophy built on individual strengths, relentless development, and transparent authenticity. After a rapid rise through the ranks—from coaching at player labs to orchestrating success in Cincinnati—Mathews returns to D.C. at just 30 years old, eager to cultivate a pitching staff both resilient and bold.

Mathews’ journey to the Nationals’ staff began with a simple, but game-changing connection: Sean Doolittle. “We go back. He trained with me when I worked at a facility called Push Performance in Arizona, and he and I have stayed in touch over the years,” Mathews explains. That long-standing relationship opened the door for Mathews as the Nationals reached out, sparking further conversations with fellow coaches Paul Toboni and Blake Butera. “To have an expectation going in of people you’ve heard a lot of great things about, and then to have them really deliver and go above and beyond... made me really excited about it,” he says.

Mathews’ recent years have not lacked volatility—after a brief stint as a business development specialist post-playing, he found his calling back in baseball. “I was terrible at it,” Mathews candidly admits of his non-sports role. During the chaotic 2020 season, he squeezed every ounce of resilience from his work outside baseball: “I learned a lot about, you know, work ethic and kind of sticking your nose down and getting things done that you might not have any interest in whatsoever. But, other than that, my focus was elsewhere, for sure.”

Central to Mathews’ coaching is honoring each pitcher’s “individual gifts.” He believes modern baseball analytics offer unprecedented speed and accuracy in helping pitchers understand and harness what makes them special: “I want guys to feel celebrated for that, and I want that to become the centerpiece of how we approach building a successful major league arsenal and game plan for them.” Mathews frames player development as a true partnership, adding, “When, first you promise to do that, and then day in and day out, you deliver that... I think that’s where you get a foundational relationship that you can build the culture on top of.”

Mathews resists taking the spotlight for individual pitching success, emphasizing that breakthroughs—like Tony Santillan’s monster bullpen campaign in Cincinnati—come from “identifying and preserving, and then creating a feedback loop that, like, got guys back to what they’re supposed to do.” He stresses his collaborative, cross-departmental approach: “I’m not going to be the one who feels like I have to solve the problem by myself. We’re a Major League group full of subject matter experts that I want to bring in... and need their feedback right when it comes to keeping world class athletes at the peak of their potential.”

For Mathews, developing both “stuff” and durability is not a choice, but a mandate. “I don’t believe fundamentally that durability and stuff are like mutually exclusive ideals,” he insists. Meticulous attention to throwing programs, pitch design, strength and conditioning, and advanced analytics are all part of his holistic approach to helping pitchers thrive while staying healthy.

The Nationals’ current and future pitching depth excites the new coach, who remembers being “helpless” watching Mackenzie Gore dominate last year. “It’s a really exciting group from a young talent perspective. But there’s also a ton of guys coming up through the minor league that is really interesting and exciting in a lot of different ways, and I’m excited to see what this group can do.”

Mathews’ commitment to communication is evident in his fluency in Spanish, a skill honed as the son of a Fulbright scholar in Barcelona and deepened by time in the Dominican Republic. “To just create a little bit of a level of comfort and understanding with a player by speaking their language, I hope makes an impact,” he says, though he’s quick to note that Latin American players are “doing the lion’s share of the work still, and I give them so much credit.”

His experience at data-driven pitching labs has informed his approach to player development. “If you want to get an invite to the alt site or whatever it was at the time, being able to demonstrate readiness was a factor,” recalling how video and analytics became essential. Now, Mathews wants to serve as that in-house resource for Nationals pitchers: “Ultimately, the goal for us here is to be able to provide that information to our guys and to be that resource.”

Despite a self-described “good, not great” pro career, coaching has renewed Mathews’ passion for the game. “Getting into coaching and getting into pro ball, and then getting to the major leagues, has really, like, driven my love for the game again in a way that just really makes me happy,” he reflects, aligning with Paul Toboni’s focus on organizational joy.

Asked about his coaching demeanor, Mathews is clear: “I want players and staff and everybody to experience me as authentic. I don’t want to pretend to be anybody else.” For him, the secret is listening: “The most important thing I can do is listen. It’s to listen to our players. It’s listening to our front office. It’s to listen to Blake, listen to our staff... and put it to use to help our players.”

As the Nationals look to the future, Mathews believes their competitive window rides on internal growth: “The Washington Nationals are going to have to develop our next really competitive team, and so there’s a little bit of patience, sort of inherent there... but we are really valuing and celebrating that player’s individual gift.”

With a foundation of individual focus, advanced analytics, and an insistence on joy and authenticity, Simon Mathews represents a new era for Nationals pitching—one that’s equal parts science, communication, and heart.