The Omaha Storm Chasers have scored 52 runs on 72 hits during their current four-game winning streak. Fittingly, hitting coach Tommy Gregg was Mark Nasser’s guest last night on the pregame show and they talked about the team’s recent offensive explosion.“It’s not me,” Gregg said. “Let’s get that straight first. I had nothing to do with it. I don’t hold the bats for them. All I’m doing is telling them what we want from them and how we want them to hit the ball ...”
“It helps when you’re in Reno and Colorado Springs where the ball carries well, the infields are hard ... ground balls get through the holes, balls get into the gaps that usually don’t, so it’s nice to see guys taking advantage of the elements.”
He may have a point. While Omaha scored 52 runs in Colorado, the Sky Sox scored 34 runs during the four-game series on 51 hits. And if you look at the best hitting teams in the PCL, Reno sits atop the leader board with a .319 team average. Colorado Springs is second at .316. But the Storm Chasers aren’t all that far behind. They are currently fifth in the league with a .290 team batting average.
So, what about a proven hitter like Mike Moustakas, who got off to a painfully slow start this season, hitting just .229 in April? What has Gregg been telling Moose and are his efforts part of the reason Moustakas is hitting .339 in May?
“You don’t mess with Moustakas as far his mechanics,” Gregg said. “He’s one of those natural hitters anyway. I mean, he just sees it and hits it. He’s got a good idea and a good approach and there’s no reason to mess with it mechanically. It’s just motivating Moose to go out there every at bat and step in the box with the same mental approach and to get his confidence back up.
“When I sit down and talk to him, it’s more about, ‘Where are you right now? How are you feeling? And let’s get back on the right track and let’s get your confidence up – to get back on a mission to prove to yourself and everybody that last year, you can do the same thing again this year. Last year’s over, but you are a good hitter. We all know it. And we expect you to be a good hitter and you should expect that from yourself also.’”
Kila Ka’aihue is another guy who has gotten off to a slow start. He’s only played 10 games for the Storm Chasers since being sent down from Kansas City, but he looks rather ordinary at the plate right now. He’s hitting .250 with 0 HR and 7 RBIs. He does have a .455 OBP, so he continues to find a way to get on base even though he’s struggling.
“We went to work right away,” Gregg said. “We’ve tried to do some mechanical things. You know, I think he was a little confused on what he wanted to do, as far as mechanically – his swing path – where he wanted to hit the ball.
“We’ve worked on a couple of things, but I think we’re going to get back to the basics and simple fundamentals of hitting and the approach that he takes to build his confidence up too and motivating him to come out every day and want to play and want to prove to everybody that he can still hit and still play the game.”
David Lough is off to a great start this season, hitting .336 with 4 HR and 19 RBIs. What is the difference between this year and last?
“He’s growing up, maturity-wise,” Gregg said. “You know, last year was his first year and he came up really quick in the organization. Last year was a learning year for him and this year is a proving year for him. He’s on a mission. He started in Spring Training.
“The first day that I saw him he said he was on a mission to play hard and play every day and concentrate and stay focused all the time – never give away at bats, and he hasn’t. I mean he’s really come to the park ready to play every day and he’s played hard. That’s one of the things – he plays so hard that he’s susceptible [to injuries]. He hurt his shoulder diving for a ball. At the same time, we want him to play hard but we want him to play smart also.
“But he’s really turned it on this year and it’s good to see. He’s a good kid and he’s got all the tools we’re looking for. Now he’s putting them together.”
