海角社区官网

鈥淚 was obsessed with figuring out hitting,鈥欌�� the Blue Jays鈥� head hitting coach discloses. 鈥淚 wanted to maximize myself as a hitter. I travelled all over to try and get better and got completely obsessed with it.鈥欌��

Serendipitously for the Jays, as it鈥檚 turned out. Transfiguring from batting average cellar mice in the American League East in 2024, bottoming out with their fewest runs scored since 1997, to loftiest in all of Major League Baseball right now under the tutelage of Popkins and assistants Lou Iannotti and Hunter Mense. With a penthouse view atop the AL. Eight players who were here last year boast higher batting averages this year. Four Jays聽鈥� Bo Bichette, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk聽鈥� are among the top 15 hitters in the game.

That鈥檚 all unfolded since Popkins joined the organization over the winter, immediately immersing himself in miles of video, then on the phone with the players, long before spring training bivouacs opened.

Analytics hardheads insist batting average is no longer a key metric. They are nitwits.

Popkins鈥� hitting philosophy accentuates optimum individualism: 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty dynamic in the sense that it鈥檚 tailoring and customizing each guy鈥檚 approach to what they naturally do well, their natural athleticism. And trying to be as creative as possible with as many solutions as each can have. I told them if you do certain things well, we鈥檙e going to maximize that. If you don鈥檛 do certain things well, that鈥檚 OK, we鈥檙e going to build a plan for you.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to let them be themselves and as productive as possible.鈥欌��

Springer, from a career worst .220 to a team-best .302 and .934 OPS, 29 home runs (all stats heading into Friday night’s game in Kansas City).

鈥淗e took a deep dive into me. What made me go, what made me work. Any information you can get is good. It鈥檚 up to you to decipher it. He knows hitters and he understands players. When you have a guy who you trust聽鈥� and I have the ultimate trust in him聽鈥� it makes it easier to believe everything he says.

鈥淧op has been able to resonate with pretty much everybody here.鈥欌��

Springer too ‘careful’

For Springer, coming off a miserable season, many observers concluded he was on an irreversible downslope, age catching up. Popkins disagreed: 鈥淚t was basically reminding him who he鈥檚 been his whole career and not trying to be something that he isn鈥檛. George has always been really aggressive, fearless when he鈥檚 in the box. Last year, I saw a little more of a careful version of him, a version that was trying to just get a hit and survive versus taking over. I reminded him that he鈥檚 a guy who takes over a game and he鈥檚 responded well to that. He鈥檚 playing fearless and he鈥檚 playing dangerous and he鈥檚 playing free.鈥欌��

Once upon a time, Popkins had the same fantasy as just about every kid who picks up a ball and a bat and a glove聽鈥� to play in The Show. But unlike most hitting coaches in the majors, far older and more wizened, he鈥檚 never had that exquisite pleasure. Didn鈥檛 make it beyond Double-A.

鈥淭hat was a big dream of mine. I would stay up all night thinking about what I was going to try in the cage the next day to make my swing perfect. I got away with a lot of things because I had a pretty good approach as a hitter. Eventually your approach can only take you so far if your movements are off. That鈥檚 what caught up with me.鈥欌��

From Double-A to independent ball with plans to go to the Mexican leagues: 鈥淭ry to reinvent myself, trying to hit more homers. It was pretty traumatic when my career ended. But the pain of it was what helped me become obsessed with coaching and helping other people. I tried to be the person that I wish I鈥檇 had when I was a player, to help me get to the next level.鈥欌��

That鈥檚 when the Los Angeles Dodgers threw him a lifeline in 2019, hiring Popkins as a hitting coach with their minor-league affiliate, the Class-A Great Lakes Loons in Michigan, and two years later elevating him to the parent club. He was just 31 years old.

It is said that those who can鈥檛, teach. But hitting mentor is an itinerant job聽鈥� only six MLB teams have hitting coaches of longer than three years鈥� tenure. When the offence goes south, the coach gets sacked. Popkins spent three years in Minnesota, after L.A., before parting company with the Twins, landing in 海角社区官网and quickly establishing faith among the players.

鈥淣ot really trying to make them trust me as much as I just wanted to show them that I was very invested and cared about their career. Looking for clues left behind from what had led to success for them in the past. Getting to know them as people, what they fear, how they鈥檙e motivated. Being an advocate and really empowering them, building confidence that this year was going to be one of the best years in their career.鈥欌��

Barger’s fastball issues

Addison Barger had all the baseball gifts in the world, but in two stints with the Jays last season had trouble with the fastball low and away. He hit .197 and struck out 60 times in 65 games, and didn鈥檛 even break with the team out of Dunedin in March.

鈥淎gain, just reminded him that he doesn鈥檛 need to do anything different than he鈥檚 done throughout his career when he was having success,鈥� says Popkins. 鈥淗e鈥檚 similar to George in that he鈥檚 aggressive, he鈥檚 a violent guy that is attacking all the time. He鈥檚 the hunter, never the prey.鈥欌��

Hitting .249 with 20 home runs and 30 doubles. Exhaustion may have caught up with the 25-year-old sophomore in a .211 August, but he was back up to .263 in September until the whole team fell into a hitting trough in the last two games against the Tampa Bay Rays this week.

鈥�A big part of it is he understands that everybody鈥檚 not the same. He gives you room to be yourself instead of changing everything.

鈥淧op kept it positive when I was slumping. As baseball players you can get very negative very fast and spiral downwards. I鈥檓 guilty of that. He gave me confidence, said to keep believing in myself, regardless of the results. A hitting coach, it鈥檚 kind of like being a therapist. Everybody who鈥檚 in the big league got here for a reason. We know how to swing a bat for the most part. A lot of times we let our minds get in the way.鈥欌��

Mind over matter and often mind over mechanics that have gone awry.

鈥淪ometimes you鈥檙e adjusting approach, sometimes you鈥檙e adjusting confidence, sometimes you鈥檙e adjusting movements,鈥欌�� says Popkins. 鈥淚t depends on the guy, it depends on the moment, it depends on timing. Sometimes the mind isn鈥檛 in a place to approach, so you鈥檝e got to be able to calm them first before you give them that information or else it鈥檚 going to go in one ear and out the other.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of psychology, being a friend, being a coach and helping them navigate all the failure in this game.鈥欌��

Everybody slumps at some point in a season. Popkins urges them to remember their happy place, where everything was going swimmingly, then recapture it.

With Barger, in his first full season, the grind had repercussions. 鈥淵our first time playing this deep in a season, you鈥檙e reaching a point of fatigue where you鈥檙e waiting for your second wind,鈥欌�� says Popkins. 鈥淗e plays harder than anyone I鈥檝e ever seen: running 100 per cent, throwing 100 per cent, swinging 100 per cent.鈥欌��

Batting helmet flying off.

鈥淲ith time he鈥檚 going to learn how to pace himself and build stamina from his effort level.鈥欌��

Gold-glover Daulton Varsho is a stupendous outfielder, but a career .226 hitter. He brings mighty power, though, with an .854 OPS and 18 home runs in just 214 at-bats in a season that started late as he was recovering from shoulder surgery and was then twice interrupted by injury.

鈥淗e鈥檚 willing to dig down deep into the mechanics of the swing. Like, when I鈥檓 going well, this is what I鈥檓 doing. He鈥檚 able to see the difference from one series to the next, seeing really small detail things, then giving me a thought or an old cue. Like, oh man, I haven鈥檛 thought about that in a while. He brings it back to the forefront so that when I go up to the plate, I can have that cue in my head and keep it simple, not too overcomplicated.

鈥淗e imbues a lot of confidence in us as players.鈥欌��

When Ty France arrived in 海角社区官网at the trade deadline, he was considered a utilityman and backup for Guerrero at first base. Yet manager John Schneider has deployed him plenty more than had been expected, to surprisingly good effect. In 34 games as a Blue Jay, he鈥檚 hitting .284.

鈥淚n 2022, there was a throw up the first-base line that I hurt my arm on. From that moment, I changed some stuff mechanically to try and relieve some of the pain. Created a lot of bad habits. I knew something was off, I just couldn鈥檛 figure out what. Within 10 minutes of me being traded here, Pop was on the phone saying, ‘Hey, this is what you were doing when you were really good, this is what you鈥檝e been doing the last couple of years, and this is how we鈥檙e going to get you back to where you were.’

鈥淭his is the first time in three years that I鈥檝e felt like myself again.鈥欌��

Occasionally Popkins stands in with the hitting machine, to remind himself what it鈥檚 like having a 96-m.p.h. fastball coming at you.

鈥淚f you forget how hard hitting is, especially in today鈥檚 game, you鈥檙e going to be extremely disconnected from the players and from your job as hitting coach. Check yourself and have some empathy for everything these players have to do consistently.

鈥淗itting is the hardest thing to do in all of sports.鈥欌��