Brinson confident, despite 0-for-25 slump
MIAMI — All major league players encounter slumps, even the best of them.
Derek Jeter struggled through a 0-for-32 drought during an All-Star season in 2004 in the middle of a 20-year career that will earn him a place in Cooperstown.
Proven hitters eventually climb out of the rut and regain their touch. With young hitters not yet established, that isn’t a certainty.
Nonetheless, the Marlins aren’t reacting with alarm to the struggles of Lewis Brinson, the rookie center fielder mired in a 0-for-25 drought.
Nor is the Coral Spring High product, whose upbeat nature is well-suited to dealing with the adversity that baseball can deal.
“I have a tremendous amount of confidence in myself. I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t play, if I couldn’t hit. Just got to transfer what we’re working on in the [batting] cage into the game,” Brinson said Tuesday after failing to get a hit for the seventh consecutive game.
“It can be tough at times. This game is tough. But I’ll get it together.”
Brinson is hardly alone among Marlins struggling at the plate during a 3-9 start to the season. They managed only two hits in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Mets, none after the second inning.
By getting one of those hits, catcher Chad Wallach, another rookie, raised his average to .125.
Even clean-up hitter Justin Bour, who hit two home runs Monday against the Mets, is batting only .182.
Bour, in his fifth season after hitting a career high .289 with 25 homers in 2017, has a history of streakiness, good and bad.
It remains to be seen whether Brinson can pull out of the funk or wind up back in the minors to work it out.
“I’d say probably a little more worrisome because he hasn’t had the track record of having success here,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ve seen [Bour] here when he gets rolling. We’ve also seen JB have slow starts in the spring and the season. Once he gets going we’ve found that he’s pretty steady at that point.
“We believe that with [Brinson] too. We’re also in the position that we’re going to be patient to a point with him, allow him to grow up. We think he did what he had to do at Triple-A. As long as he’s not getting to the point of losing confidence, he’ll continue to work and he’s going to continue to get better.”
No question about the dedication. After Monday’s game, Brinson asked hitting coach Mike Pagliarulo to work with him in a latenight session in the batting cage. Mattingly said it is rare for a player to do that after a game.
“Took about 100 swings, and they felt good,” Brinson said. “Just needed to put some extra work in to get my swing where it wants to be. I got a little closer [Tuesday] even though it wasn’t the best night.
“It’s a feel thing for me. I didn’t feel as out of whack. I felt a little better today. I’m just trying to get back to where I was in the spring.”
Brinson, who had a breakout season in Triple-A with a .331 average last year, was one of the Marlins’ best hitters during spring training, hitting .328 with 10 extra-base hits, including two homers. Mattingly pointed to his ability to adjust after a bad at-bat to get a hit in the next.
Adjusting is an ongoing process for every hitter as pitchers identify vulnerabilities.
It is evident that opponents are intent on making Brinson show he can handle breaking balls and off-speed pitches.
In three at-bats Tuesday, he saw only three fastballs among 13 total pitches. He hit a grounder back to the pitcher and struck out twice.
Brinson is far from the Marlins’ worst hitless string by a non-pitcher. Justin Ruggiano went 0-for-42 in 2013, which dragged over an agonizing span of 30 games.
“It became more of a mental issue that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Ruggiano said after ending it with a three-hit day.
Ruggiano was dangerously close to the major league record for a nonpitcher of 0-for-46 by former Dodger Eugenio Velez, who ended his career without breaking the skid.
Brinson had a four-hit game on March 30, but has only three hits since then as his average plummeted to .140. He carries the pressure of being the key acquisition in the trade with Milwaukee for Christian Yelich and also of playing in his hometown.
Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas, who has hit two of his six career homers this week, can attest to the mental strain that the game can impose and has taken it upon himself to help his younger teammates maintain a positive outlook.
“I hope they don’t make the same mistakes that I made when it was early in my career — putting so much pressure on myself, trying to do too much. I didn’t enjoy the game of baseball when I first got to the big leagues,” Rojas said.
“I just want them to enjoy this because it’s a great opportunity that they have to make a name for themselves, and this is their team.”
Rojas approached Brinson in the dugout during Monday’s game and told him to just focus on competing and not dwell on mechanics of hitting.
“I’ve struggled before. It was in the minor leagues,” Brinson said. “Just got to stay confident, keep working, don’t get too low. Just play to win. I think if you play the game right the game will reward you.”