As nice as it was having Dejesus bat lead-off last year, this spring shows that there is still plenty of learning and growth left in him in order to hit in that position. According to Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star, David DeJesus has been working with Quilvio Veras, a Royals instructor, at the mind set a lead-off hitter should have when approaching that plate. David admitted that his approach to the plate was the same whether he was batting first or anywhere else in the lineup, “Good at-bats.”
That is not going to cut it this year. OBP and runs scored are the two statistics that are being looked at closely. It’s quite simple really. A player must be on base in order to advance, and eventually cross home plate. This all starts with DeJesus, as instructor Veras explains. If he can get on base, the big guys move him around, score runs, and you win games. Seems like a pretty simple philosophy, just get on base. However, as Veras has mentioned a number of times this spring, it is important to get on base that first time, but then what? What do you do the second and third time up to the plate. What then? Having the approach of just having a good at bat does not cut it here. This is where watching film, and paying attention to tendencies, really helps out a lot. It is about doing your homework on your competition. Having a pretty good idea of what is coming next time through, to maximize your ability to reach base, at any cost, and let the big guys hit you around and home for a run.
This seems so simple when it is simply discussed on papaer like this. However, the details are what sometimes escape the good ones, as they are looking for a way to take the team on their shoulders, and win themselves. That is usually the first step towards starting over at the beginning and realizing what got them there in the first place.
Hillman is pressing the OBP heavy this year, and Coach Veras is on the same page. Getting DeJesus on base is the first step toward scoring the number of runs that could make them competitive this year.
