By Paul Gotham
EAST ROCHESTER, NY — Steve Springer likes the idea of opening day.
The Toronto Blue Jays scout and performance coach is not necessarily enamored with parades, ceremonial first pitches and decorative bunting, but he likes the renewed spirit offered by the first game of the season.
If he had his way, hitters would enjoy a season full of opening days.
“Freedom is in opening day,” Springer told a gathering of coaches, players and parents Sunday morning at the Diamond Pro baseball training facility. “There is no yesterday to get in the way. You walk up to the plate with the confidence of an attainable goal to hit the ball hard.”
Taken in the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets, Springer spent 14 years playing professional baseball. Since then he has shared with young hitters the lessons he wished he understood early in his career.
Springer’s approach gives a nod to the unconventional. In a game, and world, focused on results, Springer emphasizes the process.
Even if that means embracing failure.
“I give you guys permission not to be perfect. I give you permission NOT to get three hits in your next game.”
Springer steers hitters away from what has been ingrained in them.
“The most evil thing in baseball is the batting average. The batting average is the biggest trap in the game.”
Instead of hitters worrying about personal results, he encourages players to focus on an attainable goal.
“Why is my goal my batting average when I do everything right to go 0-for-4? It makes no sense. I hit three balls right on the screws, right at somebody. I beat the pitcher. The pitcher knows I beat him. The pitcher’s mom knows I beat him. My batting average comes down.”
“I will never ask a guy to get three hits. However, I will ask you to be the best competitor on the field with an attainable goal to hit the ball hard and help your team win.”
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The effect, Springer notes, makes all the difference in a player’s approach to the game.
“Every single one of you guys has two players in you: I got a confident guy who is a really good player. And I got the non-confident guy who sucks. How do I get the confident guy to show up?”
To that end, Springer’s approach can be summed up in one statement:
“Your career starts the day you say ‘I don’t care what I hit.’”
With that mindset embraced, a player can focus on the shared success of a team.
“I had never heard anyone say anything like that before,” stated Diamond Pro staff member and current minor leaguer Chris Bostick. “It’s something I can use from a confidence standpoint. This game can do a lot to break you down, but I know that implementing some of the things he said can keep my attitude positive and make the game easier from a mental aspect.”
“It’s always nice to listen to someone who not only played in the big leagues but has been around the game of baseball for as long as he has,” Bostick continued. “You learn in baseball that you are going to run into a lot of people with a lot of useful information and in the end you become sort of the sum of all things that you have learned from various coaches and players.”
Springer doesn’t abandon all conventions. He still talks technique and approach at the plate. Good hitters use slow feet, fast hands, hit the inside part of the ball to all fields, but he adds with a “quiet head.”
“If you like your abilities, and your abilities aren’t showing up, it’s not your ability’s problem. It’s what you’re thinking. Don’t let your mind get in the way of the ability.”
And Springer wants his hitters to be a part of every pitch thrown in a particular game.
“If you don’t think the mental side is important, you’re missing the boat,” Springer explained. “You don’t have five at bats. You have 25. When your buddy is hitting, you’re sitting there watching. You’re studying for the test… not screwing around in the dugout.”
Knowing a pitcher’s tendencies is as or more important than abilities. Which pitch is thrown and in which count?
“It’s about getting great. About watching the pitcher and every pitch he makes. We try and hit everything, and we’re not ready for anything.”
“Everything he said made a lot of sense,” noted Diamond Pro alum Jonah Heim. “It really made me think about my approach whether it’s hitting or life in general.”
“It’s really good for me because I can get in my own head,” Heim continued. “Being confident and having fun is the most important part.”
Springer emphasized the importance of relaxation.
“Loose muscles are quick muscles. Tension is an absolute killer in baseball.”
“It’s just not worrying about your batting average,” said Diamond Pro staff member and current minor leaguer, Grant Heyman. “It’s pretty tough to not because you’re judged on statistics as much as you might not want to be.”
“Whenever you go up to the plate, it’s hard to not look up at the big screen in the outfield and check out what I’m hitting. Now I’ll shift my focus more on hitting the ball hard and having good at bats rather than just trying to get base hits.”
Springer’s emphasis allows hitters and players to takel their focus away from the self and invest in the team.
“We put so much on me,” Springer said. “When you build your teammates up, you build yourself up.”
“I really liked how he talked about a lot of issues that players go through a lot mentally when playing baseball over a long period of time,” said DP staff member Ben Bostick. “I’m glad that he had a different kind of remedy and different kind of thoughts on how to approach the game and how you should handle your business not only when you’re playing but when you’re trying to get where you want to be.”
Ben Bostick recently signed with the Winnipeg Goldeneyes of the American Association.
“I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t the same old, same old. There was a lot of new stuff. A lot of stuff I’m sure that will be helpful to any baseball player.”
Opening Day is more than three months away. If Steve Springer gets his wish, hitters will have a season of opening days.
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