Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 21, 2006
Kicking in Early

Eric Chavez has a "Why didn't I think of that!" moment, thanks to new hitting coach Gerald Perry:

Now, Perry is focused solely on hitting, and the A's hitters are having a good spring. Third baseman Eric Chavez and second baseman Mark Ellis are especially locked in, with Chavez hitting .379 with five homers and Ellis .381 with four homers.

Chavez and Ellis like the way Perry communicates. He doesn't hesitate to say what he thinks (he jumped all over one player for not showing up for early hitting) and he asks lots of questions. When Chavez told him, for instance, that he doesn't usually incorporate his leg kick into his swing until the seasons starts, and he usually gets off to slow starts, Perry said, 'Why don't you put the leg kick in now?' A simple thought, but one that hadn't been raised before.

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Posted by David Pinto at 03:46 PM | Offense | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Classic case of a player being payed to play and not to think.

Posted by: Gordon Cloud at March 21, 2006 04:06 PM

what an idiot. Hard to believe this guy was never told to practice like he plays. can't knock his talent, but c'mon, this is not rocket science.

Posted by: JRMurnane at March 21, 2006 04:26 PM

Is there anything more mundane than the 30 different 'this new hitting coach is really going to turn around Player X" that we get each March? Do reporters around the country get a template for this story when they sign up for spring training press credentials?

Posted by: Morisseau at March 21, 2006 04:44 PM

Morisseau,

What got my attention was the Chavez change. It's a concrete example of why this coach is good, rather than a lot of feelings and impressions.

Posted by: David Pinto at March 21, 2006 05:35 PM

Check out Chavez's month by month splits from last season...It sure was a rollercoaster ride, but he ended up with his usual good numbers.

Posted by: tony flynn at March 21, 2006 06:57 PM

If Chavez needed a coach to come up with this insight, I hope he hires lots of coaches.

For instance he could hire someone to tell him that if he wants light in a dark room, he has to flip that little switch on the wall. I would also suggest a driving coach, but perhaps a driver would be a better idea.

Posted by: Mac at March 21, 2006 08:07 PM

Hopefully he can have that MVP year everyone thought he would...

Posted by: Tan The Man at March 21, 2006 09:02 PM

"Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this!"

"Don't do that"

duh.

Posted by: mike at March 21, 2006 10:17 PM

"I'm hungry."

"Here's some food, genius."

Posted by: Benjamin Kabak at March 22, 2006 12:13 AM

it's not quite as idiotic as you're making it out to be. one way to begin hitting workouts is with the hands/arms - then as your comfort/timing returns, you integrate your hips, then the feet/legs last. you'd think that Chavez would be all ready when he got to game-speed situations in spring training, but it's not a hungry/eat or dark/turn on a light sort of obvious thing.

Posted by: Moose at March 22, 2006 11:02 AM
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