The Middlemen
A teacher and his student have become one of baseball’s best middleinfield pairings
The routine usually begins about threeand-a-half hours before first pitch, and about an hour before batting practice, while most players are relaxing by their lockers or having a bite to eat.
“You ready, D?” Troy Tulowitzki will ask, glove in hand.
“Whenever you are,” Devon Travis responds.
The two infielders — respectively in their 11th and second big-league seasons — will then head out to the field, often with Blue Jays infield coach Luis Rivera, to work on the finer points of their craft.
The extracurricular ritual started back at the end of May, when Travis rejoined the Jays after spending much of the previous calendar year on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. The 25-year-old second baseman played his final game of what had been a promising rookie season on July 28, the same day the Jays ac- quired Tulowitzki a few days ahead of the trade deadline.
So it wasn’t until this past May 27 that the pair ever took the field together, and even that late union lasted just a single game after Tulowitzki suffered a quadriceps injury.
But Travis had read somewhere that Tulowitzki often took young infielders in Colorado under his wing — a bright young crop of present and future all-stars that includes third baseman Nolan Arenado, shortstop Trevor Storey and second baseman D.J. LeMahieu — so he approached his elder teammate and asked if he would mentor him as well.
His request wasn’t that formal, but Travis did initiate it. He says he has always sought advice from his more experienced teammates, both in the minor leagues and before he turned pro.
“Every single thing that I do — even if I feel like it’s right — if there’s something that’s a little off, I like to know,” Travis told the Star earlier this summer, adding that he didn’t want to waste an opportunity to learn from one of the best shortstops in a generation.
Their extra work plays out in different ways. Sometimes they will be on their knees, working on the intricacies of proper backhand technique as Rivera flips them simulated ground balls from close range; other times Tulowitzki seems to be leading the session in the middle of the infield, discussing how best to approach a ground ball.
“Tulo’s really serious, almost like a coach,” Travis says of the informal practices.
“More than anything I just try to teach him some ins and outs of some things I’ve learned throughout the years and just try to, you know, quicken up his learning process and try to be there for him,” Tulowitzki says.
“Most of it has been defensive. He’s definitely been doing a good job, but (he knows) there’s room for improvement, which is nice in a young kid. He’s doing a great job and I make sure I tell him that every day.”
Since they started playing together regularly in mid-June, Travis and Tulowitzki have given the Jays one of the best middle-infield combos in baseball, both offensively and defensively.
With Tulowitzki signed in Toronto through 2020 and Travis under team control for just as long, their burgeoning chemistry should come in handy as they figure to — barring injury, trade or drop-off in performance — play beside each other for four more seasons after this one.
Travis says he has always been “intrigued” by how Tulowitzki plays defence, particularly the way he aggressively attacks ground balls and makes almost every throw on the run. But they have such different body types — Tulowitzki is six-footthree and 205 pounds, compared to Travis, who is generously listed at five-foot-nine and190 pounds — that he isn’t trying to replicate his playing style. A lot of the lessons deal with mental approach or strategy.
For instance, Tulowitzki had noticed Travis had a tendency to tense up before a pitch, so he tried to impart to him that he needn’t be so tightly wound.
“Between pitches, take a breather. Check out the sick ballpark. Enjoy it,” Travis recalls Tulowitzki saying. “You’re not out there stuck in mud. Just let the game come to you. That was the biggest thing for me. Tulo’s really serious about his business but between pitches, when nothing’s going on, he’s very relaxed.”
Tulowitzki, who in spring training told USA Today he enjoyed being on a veteran team in Toronto where he didn’t have to “feel like a teacher anymore,” seems to have no problem reprising that role for Travis.
“He’s so willing to learn, which is nice,” Tulowitzki said. “Some guys you have to kind of force it, but Devon’s that kid that’s going to come and ask those questions and take what he learns and apply it to his game. It’s nice to work with someone like that.”