Hyers adjusting to ‘new normal’
Sox hitting coach trying to get team up to speed
Baseball in this COVID-19 era of 2020 has certainly been an adjustment for players, but it’s also been especially difficult for coaches. Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers can attest.
While some Red Sox players have talked about not seeing their teammates for days due to social distancing protocols, it’s been increasingly difficult for coaches to connect with their team, too. Manager Ron Roenicke can’t have his usual casual chats with players in the clubhouse, and it’s also made Hyers’ job a little more complicated.
For instance, the Red Sox’ daily hitters meetings have been nonexistent this season, Hyers said.
“We just don’t want to take that risk of that many guys in an area at one time,” he said.
The Red Sox have chosen not to even hold them on Zoom, though Roenicke holds meetings with the team on the video platform regularly. Instead, at least for the hitters, daily preparation is individually-based. Hyers will meet with players as they come down to the batting cage and send them individual video ahead of time.
That’s baseball in 2020 for you.
“It’s just a new normal,” Hyers said in an interview with the Herald this week. “The routines a lot of other players have had in the past and had throughout the minor leagues and the big leagues has dramatically changed. Just getting their work in, plus all the new norms. We’re trying to stay away from players as much as we can and just respect the virus. It’s a big thing to try to keep players healthy and keeping them on the field is the No. 1 priority right now because you’ve seen with the other teams, if it gets in the clubhouse … it could spread quickly.”
For a sport like baseball with players that are so maniacal about their daily routines, it’s been hard. J.D. Martinez, for example, spends long days at the park for preparation, getting his body ready with workouts, watching video and so forth, but new protocols have cut that time down.
“It takes time to work its way out,” Hyers said. “Players are very routine-oriented, and when you change routines, it for some reason takes a little while to develop those new routines at the park. … So at the beginning it was a struggle, but I think now guys are starting to develop some things that can help them out. It’s difficult for all of us.”
For the Red Sox offense, that’s shown on the field.
Since their 13-2 Opening Day blowout win over the Orioles, the Red Sox have scored just 3.5 runs per game in 11 games as they’ve fallen to 4-8. An offense that was supposed to carry these Red Sox with a mediocre, at best, pitching rotation has scuffled 20% into the season, with some of their best hitters starting off slow.
Hyers has attributed the slow start to two factors. One, they haven’t had much control of the strike zone, and hitters are making quick outs when they need to be more selective with getting the right pitch. Two, they haven’t been able to string quality atbats together and put pressure on opposing pitching.
The Red Sox also need their younger hitters to get going, especially Andrew Benintendi, who’s 2-for-29 (.069) with 12 strikeouts to start the year. Hyers said the left fielder has been missing and fouling off pitches that he should be putting in play, and he attributes that to his swing plane, which he’s continuing to work on.
“I think early spring training, the second spring training, he found some things that were working pretty good for him and once the season started, it kind of just his hands were drifting and just couldn’t get him in that slot to fire,” Hyers said. “So that’s what he’s trying to work on right now, is just getting that timing back and getting that separation that he can have that snap in his swing that we’ve seen him had in the past. …
“I do think at times, he’s trying to do too much. It’s just human nature when you get off to a slow start and you try to get three hits in one at-bat. It’s just that competitive nature in all of us and then I think there’s some pitches he could have put in play … and he’s just fouling them off. Sometimes he’s pulling it out of there, sometimes he’s trying to lift the baseball. He just hasn’t found that swing plane and connection with his lower half to be consistent with his swing plane.”
Michael Chavis and Alex Verdugo have also struggled offensively to start the season but seem to be coming around after big games in Thursday’s win over the Rays. Hyers said Chavis — who’s hitting .240 with 10 strikeouts in 25 at-bats — has been pull-heavy to start the year, and he’s worked on lengthening his swing to get more plate coverage, which has generated some success.
Verdugo, who Hyers worked with briefly when they were with the Dodgers, is a different story. The centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade is coming off a major back injury he suffered last season, and he’s still finding his swing again.
“He’s done well,” Hyers said. “His timing is so far off compared to what I saw in LA. He just hasn’t found that rhythm, that timing and I think with any injury, I think subconsciously you’re trying to protect yourself at times. I haven’t seen him let go like I’ve seen him in the past.
“He’s a really good hitter and I think that one is just getting back in the flow of playing at the major-league level and trying to overcome an injury. … I think that part, for me, he just needs some more ABs to find his timing and be able to get more confidence with his back and let it go.”