A Slump? That's Not On the Spreadsheet.

[Alex Boxwell]

A bad day? A bad month?? A bad year?! Slumps are no fun, and no one wants to talk about them. So let's talk about Slumps and the Star Shortstop.

Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

We've all experienced it in some way, shape or form. Whether we come up short of the expectations we set for ourselves or drop off from previously-established performance expectations, being in a slump is real. Being in a slump has wreaked havoc on baseball players for as long as the game has been around. It's an uncomfortable topic because there is one step higher from the slump where you start talking about the "yips," which, if you're in a clubhouse that's like saying Voldemort at Hogwarts. 

Some of the stories of players trying to break out of a slump produce the best stories the game has to offer. These techniques range from growing a mustache to wholesale changes to a hitting/pitching approach. A few of my favorite stories of quick fixes are hitting with a handful of loose change in your back pocket, lighting a bat on fire, showering in full uniform after the game, the "slump buster," and, of course, the golden thong. 

(Editor/Seth Note: I believe this is the first time the term "slump buster" has been used at Twins Daily. Does that almost automatically push us to PG-13 status?) 

What does a slump look like? Unfortunately, a great example is Minnesota's star shortstop Carlos Correa, a phenomenal talent who has hit .275 with 20+ homers per year and brings gold glove defense daily. Thankfully, the glove rarely slumps and Correa continues to bring stellar defense to the park whenever his name is on the lineup card. However, as I write this, Correa is hitting .189 with some middling peripherals per Baseball Savant.

It's an incredibly uncomfortable topic because there's such a wide range of how people like to handle it, and it's a really sore subject for some. Correa has faced it head-on, which for a star, is how underperforming has to be handled on his end. A player who is as confident and talented as Carlos Correa is has to meet criticism head-on, or people will start running for torches and pitchforks because he makes a lot of money, fair or not.

Where does a slump come from? A string of hard-hit outs. A couple of tough matchups with a pitcher you don't see well. Your confidence gets shaken, and your mental game starts to spiral. Then all of a sudden, you are flat-out uncomfortable in the box; everything feels wrong, from how you stand to how you swing. That's when you're really in it. From a hitting perspective, a lot of it comes from decisiveness. 

When hitters get caught between fastball and off-speed timing, they feel helpless. If a hitter can set their mind on the fastball, you have a chance to slow down and adjust to off-speed. If you get off the heater, you can't speed up to 90+ miles per hour. Correa, and Jose Miranda, for that matter, have been beaten down by fastballs. If a hitter can't hit a good fastball, they will struggle.

It becomes mental warfare with yourself and turns into the fact that if you think it works, it does. If you think you're in a slump, you are. By in large, guys' physical swings do not change. Hand placement, changing your sight point, or opening/closing your stance are some adjustments you'll see, but the swing doesn't change much. That's why you get guys sacrificing live chickens to get a couple of knocks because it's hard to put your finger on it, and it's rarely a significant physical change.

As a former player that has gone through my share of slumps, what I see from Correa is a guy trying to do too much. He gets good fastballs to hit, and it looks like he's trying to hit five-run homers. Often times, fouling these pitches off and for anyone who has been in a slump or watched C4 lately it feels like they're eternally in two strike counts.

When you see such excellent pitching day in and day out, often doing less is more. If a guy is in a bad spot mentally and starts trying to will his way out of a slump, you see a slow, muscly swing, and that tension kills quickness. I'd like to see him loosen up and return to the mentality of a doubles hitter that hits home runs occasionally. (Note: This article was written before Correa's big, two-run double on Thursday that gave the Twins a lead against the Padres.)

Slumps are madness and rarely make sense. The only truth is what a hitter believes deep down in their guts, regardless of what they tell the media, their teammates, the coaching staff, and even themselves... that is what is happening. If they really believe wearing their undershirt backward will work, it will. That will help empty the clutter that makes a player slower with their decision-making at the plate.

Carlos Correa is a phenomenal talent. That is not debatable. He is just not hitting right now. It is a mental battle, and that's part of the beauty of baseball. You can have all the talent in the world, but if your mind isn't right, you're in trouble; the game happens too fast. The more beautiful thing about baseball is that Carlos Correa is one swing away and maybe one round of hitting batting practice left-handed from being red hot.

Go, Twins!

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[Riverbrian]

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite reads on Twinsdaily. 

I would like to propose that slumps need a new term after they eclipse 100 AB's. Actually they may need a new terminology after 50 AB's. 

[SockNet]

Love the Bull Durham reference 🐔

 

[Fornasiere-ite]

Given his track record, it is hard to imagine a scenario where CC doesn't figure it out. However, it is frustrating to watch good hitters consistently missing poorly located fastballs, and his early season efforts to hit the ball into right-center seem to have been abandoned. If more guys on the Twins would adopt Kirilloff's approach, which in IMO is the best on the team, I think we would start seeing more consistency not just from CC, but from a number of hitters. Obviously there are exceptions, as I would never argue that Gallo start trying to drive the ball to the opposite gap. 

Making adjustments in-season is always difficult because if results don't come right away (as there rarely do), it is easy to abandon a new approach. I just would like to see any adjustment at this point, because watching the same players refuse to adapt every week is soul crushing. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

3 minutes ago, Fornasiere-ite said:

Given his track record, it is hard to imagine a scenario where CC doesn't figure it out. However, it is frustrating to watch good hitters consistently missing poorly located fastballs, and his early season efforts to hit the ball into right-center seem to have been abandoned. If more guys on the Twins would adopt Kirilloff's approach, which in IMO is the best on the team, I think we would start seeing more consistency not just from CC, but from a number of hitters. Obviously there are exceptions, as I would never argue that Gallo start trying to drive the ball to the opposite gap. 

Making adjustments in-season is always difficult because if results don't come right away (as there rarely do), it is easy to abandon a new approach. I just would like to see any adjustment at this point, because watching the same players refuse to adapt every week is soul crushing. 

Welcome to Twins Daily! 

[Alex Boxwell]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite reads on Twinsdaily. 

I would like to propose that slumps need a new term after they eclipse 100 AB's. Actually they may need a new terminology after 50 AB's. 

Thank you, means a lot! 

[Alex Boxwell]

2 hours ago, Fornasiere-ite said:

Given his track record, it is hard to imagine a scenario where CC doesn't figure it out. However, it is frustrating to watch good hitters consistently missing poorly located fastballs, and his early season efforts to hit the ball into right-center seem to have been abandoned. If more guys on the Twins would adopt Kirilloff's approach, which in IMO is the best on the team, I think we would start seeing more consistency not just from CC, but from a number of hitters. Obviously there are exceptions, as I would never argue that Gallo start trying to drive the ball to the opposite gap. 

Making adjustments in-season is always difficult because if results don't come right away (as there rarely do), it is easy to abandon a new approach. I just would like to see any adjustment at this point, because watching the same players refuse to adapt every week is soul crushing. 

Very well said and dynamite screen name! Go Gophers

[Teflon]

While baseball's in a fixing mood, perhaps something could be done to make slumps more fun and to make people want to talk about them.  

[T Mitch]

Well articulated post, Alex.  I read your Baseball Reference page and your Gophers page and am mightily impressed.  You have played a lot of high level baseball, and that gives your comments a boat-load of credibility.  Your points on Carlos are well taken, those on slumps even more so. Keep posting.

[Alex Boxwell]

14 hours ago, Teflon said:

While baseball's in a fixing mood, perhaps something could be done to make slumps more fun and to make people want to talk about them.  

Someone should write an article to spread awareness.

[Riverbrian]

18 hours ago, Alex Boxwell said:

Thank you, means a lot! 

Coming from me... of course it does!!!