Hitman gets his whacks

For a dozen years – through high school, college and now into his fourth year in professional baseball, Jeremy Slayden has always hit.

The Phillies right fielder has racked up so many important hits, he could qualify as a member of Tony Soprano’s crew.

Ba-da-bing! There was that record 13th home run his sophomore year at Oakland High that sealed the Tennessee big-school state title, the first of two enjoyed by Slayden and his teammates.

Ka-pow! There was that game his sophomore year at big-league producer Georgia Tech – a rare down year, by the way – when Slayden went 6-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and four runs scored.

Ba-boom! There was that title year at Lakewood, when the left-handed hitter swatted four doubles in one game on the way to totaling a South Atlantic League best 44 while hitting .310 and leading the Blue Claws in hits (124) and RBIs (81).

Gad-zing! There was a second straight title year at Clearwater in 2007 when Slayden twice knocked in five runs in a game, finishing as the Threshers’ leader in runs (71), home runs (14) and RBIs (73).

It seems the 25-year-old Slayden has cultivated a habit of success as a striker of thrown baseballs.

So why, then, does his manager, P. J. Forbes, tsk, tsk him for sometimes trying too hard with a bat in his able hands? To hear Forbes tell it, Slayden is a born again thinker at the plate. He analyzes so much he ought to lug a couch up there to the plate.

“He’s a hard worker, and he wants to do better,” Forbes said about a guy who is batting .292 and leading the team with three homers, nine doubles and 22 RBIs (through May 8). “Watching his progression, sometimes he overworks. He can get too deep in thought as opposed to letting his ability work for him. He lets it work against him, and we’ve talked about keeping him out of his own head.”

The idea is to separate from the mental self – the preparation you did on the practice field – and let the mental self take over in actual competition. It’s also finding the ability to let go of expectations.

You wonder why Slayden would stew about something he has been so uncommonly successful at. Just look at the numbers he has put up, the accomplishments he has achieved.

Returning to his high school days, he was one of the top hitters in the nation his senior year and finished his prep career with 37 home runs, second in the state only to the 38 slugged previously by Todd Helton. His senior year he finished as the 2001 Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee.

The following season at Georgia Tech, when he says he was just trying to make the team and be a contributor, he hit .348, set a Yellow Jacket home run mark for a freshman with 18, led the team in several offensive categories, and was a main reason why the surprising Jackets made it to the college World Series.

Two injury-filled seasons followed – he had back and rotator cuff surgery – but he rebounded to hit .352 with corresponding power numbers for a team that went 45-19. Despite playing with a sprained ankle, he won honors as national college Player of the Week when he went an incredible 11-for-14 with four bombs. He was named to the Division I Academic All-American team.

Once again, though, an injury – he had been playing with a shard of glass in his foot – forced him to shut it down right before the draft. Slayden feared he was being seen by scouts as a player who was injury-prone. Even so, the Phillies plucked him on the eighth round.

He has not disappointed as a hitter. So why is he acting as though he is Adrian Monk with a bat in his hands?

Though our interview session was cut short – he was scheduled to hit – he did offer some glimpses of who he is as a thinking man’s hitter:

“You’ve got to keep the game fun, and sometimes I can do a better job with that because you can take things too seriously, because you’re looking at advancement and not at what you’re doing right now.”

“I’ve learned how to use the whole field and to relax in bigger situations and not try to do too much. [ital]Not all the time, [end ital] but I’m getting better at it.” 

“My sophomore year (in college) was a real down year for me because I had never had a real slump before. That year I had one because I was trying (to hard) to do what I did my freshman year. (Opponents) knew me, and I wasn’t seeing any fastballs. I was trying so hard to make things happen. I wasn’t mature enough then to calm down and take my walks and get my singles.”

“I think I truly learned to hit as a pro that year (in Lakewood). Sometimes in my mind I go back to that season and I think, ‘How did I do it then?’ You have markers in your life and your career when you think, ‘That’s when I was really on, and that’s what I want to remember.’ ”

Forbes’ message to his young hitter: “Do your work, work on things you need to work on, and when the game starts, let what you’ve done take over. Sometimes I think he gets caught in between (that physical and mental self) at the plate.”

Slayden might heed his own words when he talked about his terrific freshman year at Georgia Tech, when he really didn’t put much pressure on himself to succeed:

“I really did have a good season. I didn’t really have any goals set. I just wanted to be a good player and be part of the team.”

Ba-da-bing!

This story was posted on May 9, 2008