A’s Matt Chapman no longer ‘a mess’
Oakland’s all-star third baseman learns to take long major league season in stride
OAKLAND – The A’s big bats have been quieter than usual recently but manager Bob Melvin isn’t concerned. He canceled batting practice before Friday night’s game against the Texas Rangers, noting the team appeared “sluggish” in an 11-3 loss the night before.
Asked about Matt Chapman, who has been off his game since returning from an ankle injury, Melvin said he’s the last player he worries about.
Chapman doesn’t worry much these days, either, even if numbers from the past few weeks might prompt alarm in others.
Over a span of 12 games before tweaking his ankle on July 17 vs. Seattle, Chapman was batting .386 with three home runs, 15 RBIS and just five strikeouts in 44 at-bats. The A’s went 10-2 in those games.
In six starts before Friday, he was hitting just .182 with no home runs or RBIS and nine strikeouts in 22 at-bats. Oakland was 2-4 in those outings.
Chapman tries hard not to feel the weight of a bad stretch in a sport where even a .300 hitter fails on seven of 10 at-bats.
“I used to live and die with that,” Chapman said. “Probably last year I would have been pulling my hair out after a week like that and just be a mess.”
Not anymore. Now in his third season, Chapman is beginning to learn the rhythm of a 162-game schedule. Overall, he is batting .273 with a team-best 22 homers this year.
“It just comes from experience,” said Chapman, 26. “I know that if I get back in that rhythm, things will pick back up where they were. You’ve just got to keep perspective I know there’s going to be good weeks, bad weeks, good months, bad months. “I couldn’t hit .500 forever.” Chapman credits some of his recent struggles to the pitchers the A’s saw in road games against division leaders Minnesota and Houston.