Pitchers made an adjustment to me. It's up to me to come up with an answer.
There are some great pitchers in this league. You're going to get fooled sometimes. They're going to get you.
Preparation is very important. The pitcher is going to do his job and prepare for you, so you as a hitter must do the same. I always watch videotape of pitchers before the game and even sometimes during.
I think the biggest adjustment I've made before coming here was going from High A to Double A. I was going in facing pitchers who had more experience and knew how to throw all their stuff for strikes and in hitter's counts, things like that.
I think once I see everybody and go through every team and their pitchers, I'll get an idea of what they like to do. And they'll see what I like to do and swing at. I think there's always something you've got to adjust to.
In high school, baseball was life. My senior year, I had the highest batting average on the team. I was one of the starting pitchers. I wanted to play Division III ball and eventually coach.
I try to do my best every game to help the pitchers and help my team win. That's it.
Most of the managers are lifetime .220 hitters. For years pitchers have been getting these managers out 75% of the time and that's why they don't like us.
You throw batting practice, you warm up pitchers, you sit and cheer. You do whatever you have to do to stay on the team.
I had some great pitchers while in St. Louis. At first, they only 'pitched' the ball fifty feet. They had an allowance of six bases on balls, which was neutralized to some extent by four strikes. Later on, the 'throw' became a free-for-all, overhand, or any style the pitcher chose.
