While most baseball players were resting this winter, the Dominican Republic Winter League (LIDOM) was once again putting on one of the greatest shows in baseball.

Everyone knows about the love of baseball in the Dominican, as well as the numerous MLB stars from the small island. Word is slowly starting to spread of the joy of their Winter League with its ecstatic crowds and high intensity play and thrilling celebrations.

Carlos Pena first became known as an elite first baseman from Northeastern University, followed by his 14-year MLB career that saw him hit 286 career home runs. In his first season as the General Manager of Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League, all he did was lead his team from a rough start to winning the league championship series.

“I do everything I can to give them everything I can, to give our coaches information, to guide them,” Pena told mlb.com. “The same goes for the players. Give them everything they need so that their talent can flourish to the fullest on the field.”

A profound example of helping the players was Pena bringing in groundbreaking baseball mind Perry Husband to help the team. Husband has revolutionized baseball with his studies and implementation of what he calls “Effective Velocity.” His studies have proven statistically what leads to success and failures for pitchers and hitters alike. And it has been proven on the field with many players and programs, from Coastal Carolina’s national championship team, to Oklahoma softball’s dominance, to Gerrit Cole to most recently, Ranger Suarez. His footprint on the game has been quietly profound.

In the Dominican, players were slow to buy in to a change from the traditional and safe concept of what they were taught leads to success. But after some coaching changes, players started to buy in on Pena and Husband’s vision, and the results were immense. After starting out 16-21, they went 28-15 to win the Dominican title and advance to the semifinal of the Caribbean Series.

What changed? A different way of looking at the pitcher-hitter battle. Husband’s studies have shown that there is a science behind hitters timing up pitchers, and pitchers upsetting hitter’s timing.

The foundational concepts of Husband’s approach include Tunneling (the term Husband created to describe making all pitches appear to look alike), Hitter’s Attention Theory (hitter’s timing is greatly influenced by the speed and location of the previous pitches), and Effective Velocity (pitches essentially act like different speeds to the hitter, based on location in the zone).

There are numerous stories of success with this approach for the individual players who buy in, and it is slowly revolutionizing the game. Whether it’s Carlos Pena as a player working with Husband to hit 46 home runs with the Tampa Rays, or Carlos Pena as a GM joining forces with Husband to win the LIDOM championship, it’s clear this revolution is here.