Brett Baty struggled at the plate and in the field last year, but he worked on his swing and defensive footwork in the offseason and hopes to rebound with the help of veterans who are showing him how to be consistent.
“I think the people that are the best at this game are the ones who are the most consistent, who can go into those valleys, but can also come out of it and stay like even-keel and stuff like that,” he told reporters in the locker room at spring training camp in Port St. Lucie. “And I think I was riding the roller coaster too much.”
The third baseman slashed .212/.275/.323 last year in 389 plate appearances and was demoted to the minors in August. He hit nine home runs and 12 doubles.
“But I think last year is in the past,” he told reporters. “You can learn some stuff from last year of course. But I’m just looking forward to this year, man. I’m looking forward to having fun. A lot of new faces around, I’ve already gotten to meet a lot of new people, and I think we are gonna have a really fun year.”
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Baty said he spent the first three weeks of the offseason watching video – “I didn’t touch a bat” – and he noticed he had to adjust his posture, hands, feet and legs.
“I think the level of consistency wasn’t there last year,” he said. “I think there were some times I hit the ball really hard, and then I’d do some really good things offensively. And then there were some times where I didn’t know what I was doing up there.”
Baty, who made 10 errors in 108 games, said he let his struggles in the field affect his hitting.
“I think it’s hard not to do,” he said. “Just as a human being when you are struggling somewhere, and you probably take it to your home life or whatever you are doing outside the field or whatever. I think that had a big impact on my offensive game too.”
“But I think that’s again what I’m saying like the veteran guys, I feel like they are really good at differentiating the two parts of the game. They have a really good game offensively and a really bad game defensively but they are not together. I think I need to learn that level of consistency from them.”
Is he concerned about job security?
“As far as competition, I think competition is great,” he said. “I think competition, I think it makes everybody better. Any way we can make this ball club better, I’m for it. And I’m gonna go out there and work as hard as I can and do what I can for this ball club.”
He was asked if he was worried about pressing too hard. “I’m not trying to go out there and do anything extraordinary,” he said. “I’m just going to go out there and be who I am. Be me.”
