‘That Cronenworth guy’ still here
The mascot for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits has googly eyes sprouting from the top of a baked good come to life, with a pat of butter for “Monty’s” tongue.
Maybe that’s what distracted Jake Cronenworth in the spring of 2018.
As the season lurched to life, the rising prospect in the Rays organization sank into a slump … and sank … and sank … and sank. He started 0-for-10. Then, 0-for-20. Then, as the misfires and misfortune piled up, a cringeworthy 0-for-32.
Brady Williams, manager of the Triple-A Durham Bulls, manned the same gig in Montgomery as Cronenworth watched the 0-fers pile up.
“It was one of the toughest starts I can ever remember a player going through, honestly,” Williams said.
Cronenworth was astounded, he recalled, at being called up to the Bulls. When he returned to Monty and the Biscuits, the slump was there waiting. The skid reached 1-for-41 (.024) before, 100 at-bats into the season, he had collected just 10 hits.
So, Cronenworth understands grinding and scuffling and sticking with a plan to dig out of baseball’s equivalent of the Mariana Trench. That spring, with long walk after long walk to the dugout, steeled Cronenworth a season ago when the NL Rookie of the Year campaign of the Padres second baseman hit a stretch snag.
“That was the lowest of lows,” said Cronenworth, 27. “Being in those situations, I’ve been in that spot where it’s tough and you’ve got to grind every day. It’s a huge learning experience.”
To understand the strain of Croenworth’s end of the regular season in 2020, it’s necessary to be aware of how whitehot he started.
With about a week to play in August, Croenworth’s .352 average stood better than Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon. His 1.066 OPS (on base, plus slugging) bested hitting machine Charlie Blackmon. That from a newcomer making the league minimum of $575,000 among a group with an average salary of more than $23.6 million.
The rookie wowed opponents so much during a fill-in stint for Eric Hosmer at first base, a position he played for only one game as a pro in Double-A, that Dodgers veteran A.J. Pollock explained an at-bat by saying he was “just trying not to hit it to that Cronenworth guy” because of his sparkling glove.
“You can trust him in a lot of phases of the game,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said at the time. “I trust him in the box. I trust his decision making. I trust him on the bases. And I certainly trust the ball hitting his glove.”
Unexpectedly being pushed onto the field in an everyday way forced Cronenworth to react, rather than overanalyze.
“I didn’t really have time to think about anything or think about what I was doing at the plate,” he said. “I was just kind of thrown in there. I think it helped a lot, took my mind off it.”
For each up, a down undoubtedly waits around the corner.
Cronenworth hit .375 in July, with a 1.194 OPS. In August, he put the ball in play at a .355 clip with a 1.021 OPS. In September, though, memories of his buttery nemesis returned — sliding to .183 and .543. In his final 11 games covering 35 at-bats, Cronenworth had just four hits and ended the month 0-for-11. Sound familiar? “Those last couple weeks were really tough,” Cronenworth said. “But I still felt like I was having quality at-bats, even though I wasn’t getting hits. I was lining out and stuff like that.”
Then, as in 2018, patience paid off.
In the NL Wild Card Series, his bat scorched the Cardinals. Cronenworth reached base nine times in 12 plate appearances, with five hits including a triple and home run. He added a stolen base and two walks with just one strikeout.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game every single night,” he said. “I think that helped me a lot. It was almost like a reset.”
This spring, Cronenworth faces a position battle with Ha-seong Kim, the top prospect out of Korea who cost the Padres more than $33 million.
Kim, for his part, sees it a bit differently.
“I don’t consider him as my competition,” Kim said through interpreter Leo Bae. “I consider him as my teammate. We need him to the win the championship for sure. He makes our squad stronger. I learn a lot from him.”
Cronenworth still plans to grind like it’s the spring of 2018 or the fall of 2020.
“I think in this lineup I’m still ‘that Cronenworth guy,’ ” he said.
Solid wiring, his former manager said.
“Even though he was struggling like that (in 2018), he played shortstop like he was hitting .330,” Williams said. “He kept trying to find ways to help the team.”
When the season with the disastrous start ended, Cronenworth had climbed into the top five of nearly every major offensive category in Montgomery.
“Once he got over the hump, he was one of our better hitters if not our best hitter,” Williams said.
Slumps fail to unnerve Cronenworth, the Padres learned first-hand a season ago.
Monty? Maybe just a little.