Whether he was readying himself for an everyday role or the sporadic life of a pinch hitter, Cardinals outfielder Allen Craig found a formula this past offseason to improve his swing for any at-bat made available.
Drive two hours for every one hour in the batting cage.
Repeat as needed.
A few weeks after the end of last season, Craig texted hitting coach Mark McGwire to see if he could join him for batting instruction. Craig commuted three times a week, an hour each way, to spend 60 minutes refining his swing.
"It's not easy to break old habits," Craig said. "That's why I drove there. I wanted to be with him just to get his eyes on me and get his immediate input as much as possible."
The immediate impact has been worth the mileage.
As the Cardinals have groped for runs in the first week of the season, Craig has kept one position a constant source of production. With left fielder Matt Holliday recovering from an appendectomy, Craig has driven in a team-high four of the Cardinals' 15 runs. As they open a 10-game trip this afternoon in San Francisco, the Cardinals left fielders have the highest average (.409) and fourth-best slugging (.545) in the National League. Craig hasn't flubbed a line as the understudy.
"Unfortunately, I've had that chance since Matt went down," Craig said. "It's been good for me to have a good spring and get to play early on and keep that groove. So when Matt comes back and I'm in that bench role again I'll have the game experience to build on."
On opening day, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa candidly said he was "concerned" about Craig idling on the bench. With Holliday returning soon the Craig conundrum resumes.
La Russa said he's considering playing Craig at third base to assure added at-bats. Setting up Craig as a complement for Lance Berkman against lefty starters could be a fit. The Cardinals will face two lefties in the three-game series against the World Series champion Giants.
"Getting him in there is not easy," La Russa said. "But I'm going to try. ... I think he's a legitimate force."
Echoed McGwire: "His numbers in the minor leagues say what they say. He's an RBI machine. I truly believe if Allen Craig is given 500 to 600 at-bats in a year ... I would not be surprised if he hits 20 to 25 (homers). He is an absolute threat from the outfield, the infield, wherever they decide to find a position for him. He's that good."
Craig, 26, did not warm to the role a year ago. He's already had more hits in several single games this April than he had all of last April. Craig started 1-for-18 and struggled with the inconsistent playing time. It was McGwire who said that Craig had a swing "where he needs to play every day." That was one of the reasons why Craig sought McGwire this winter — to make his swing better suited for everyday and every-so-often use.
On the final day of last season, McGwire mentioned to Craig that he had been striding in the box so that his foot was pointed toward the second baseman. That kept his hips closed. McGwire believed that's why Craig had difficulty with inside pitches, and why he didn't pull the ball with much success.
A dozen two-hour round trips this winter and Craig has a better swing for the inside pitches and a more direct stride.
"I asked him, 'Where do you mentally want to hit the baseball?'" McGwire said. "It was to right-center. Well, OK. That's nice. That's impressive. My thought is when you're thinking about right-center, you're totally eliminating left field. So I said, 'I would love you to think about the back of the pitcher's chest, the center of the field.' That opens up, foul pole to foul pole."
The other part of his swing Craig worked to improve was its length. He practiced a shorter, punchier swing "to hit hard groundballs or line drive." He felt that swing was more proficient in pinch-hit situations instead of "trying to hit a double or really do some damage like last year." Craig will approach batting-practice swings like they're pinch-hit swings, and even when he made starts this spring, he would use those at-bats as pseudo pinch-hit appearances.
Early in the winter, the Cardinals positioned Craig as a potential starter in right field. Then Berkman became available and Craig was back on the bench. Craig called himself "more prepared" for bench duties this season, and so far he's unlocked the real math of being a part-time player: By producing in fewer at-bats he has forced the Cardinals to find him more.
"I just think last year I was trying to do too much because it was my first time to actually do something, and you want to make it memorable," Craig said. "I'm trying to prove myself every day, whatever the role. I got the at-bats in spring training and I felt I proved myself a little bit. I'm trying to carry it from there."
