Travis dishes on upswing at plate
Swing doctors keep prescriptions simple and it’s paying off
In the major leagues and the minors — where Devon Travis spent much of the month of May — the message from hitting coaches to the second baseman has been one of trust.
Trust in the work, trust in the process and, crucially, trust in himself and his abilities.
“They just keep it simple, ‘Hey, you can hit. You know you can hit. Got to believe you can hit and you’re going to hit. Just keep working,’ ” Travis said last week.
By “they” he means Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby and Corey Hart, the hitting coach with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons who Travis gave a glowing review following his return to the big leagues on May 22 (he’d been demoted April 27).
The Jays optioned Travis to Buffalo when he was hitting .148 just shy of a month into the season, with one home run and three RBIs. He was also averaging a strikeout per game.
Since being recalled, Travis has looked more like the player the Jays expect him to be. Before rapping four singles in Thursday night’s 6-4 loss in Boston, he had been batting .274 since his return with five homers — including a grand slam Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves — five doubles and 20 RBIs. He has struck out just 19 times in 38 games.
For Travis, the consistent message from both hitting coaches offered comfort. When things aren’t going well for a player, he said, there can be too many opinions.
“I’m sure they keep in touch because Corey seems to be very, very, very, very similar to Brook,” Travis said. “It’s nice.”
Taking a deep breath, trusting the work and just letting things happen may be a simple approach in a world of analytics, but it works for Travis.
“At this level, that’s very important because we have so much information and video that when you’re going good you can go look at video and see something that you may not like and it gets you into a little bit of trouble.”
The troubles Travis has come across in his four years in the big leagues stem more from injuries than his mechanics. Last week, the second baseman played his 51st game of the season, one more than he managed in 2017 when a knee injury shut him down in early June. He’s closing in on the 62-game mark he hit in 2015, when shoulder issues derailed his year. The most games he has played in a season is 101, in 2016.
The infielder knocks on wood when he learns he has passed last year’s game total, adding the injuries aren’t something he thinks much about — and prefers not to dwell on during interviews for fear of jinxing his health.
“It’s good,” he said. “I feel good.”
He looks like the Devon Travis of 2016, making diving plays and running the bases freely. First baseman Justin Smoak, for one, is happy to see it.
“He’s been playing great out there. Hopefully that continues,” Smoak said last week. “It’s somebody I’m used to playing with a lot (55 times this season through Thursday) so hopefully he can keep doing what he’s doing because he’s a really good player.”
The admiration goes both ways.
“I know he’s the best I’ve ever played with over there,” Travis said of Smoak. “I’m sure a lot of people would agree with that. It’s nice to have the right side of the infield working together and understanding each other and being able to have that dialogue. We work pretty good together and when we’re out there it’s always a lot of fun.”
As he’s getting back into the game, having a first baseman with “like, a magnet in his glove” has been a perk Travis appreciates.
“It’s nice to feel like you can make whatever kind of throw you can get off. Sometimes you don’t have the best of grip, but you’ve got to get rid of it, and it’s nice to know you have a nice safety net over there at first.”