Maybe it's time for a short vacation
If you follow baseball you probably know that the DH for the Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, is in a slump of multiple lifetimes. In this post I hope to explain what may help him change but also debunk some common thoughts about his slump. This will also serve as a lesson to any athlete in any sport about how to manage a slump.
A slump is a decline in performance that is beyond the normal struggles of an athlete. To be in a slump it cannot be due to age or injury. The assumption is that nothing physically is wrong. I am also going on the assumption that Performance Enhancing Drugs are not part of the equation. Although I would even argue that even if PEDs were part of the problem (or the lack of use of PEDs) his slump would not be this bad. Lets first look at some hard facts, below are his stats for his career.
Two areas I highlighted are batting average and slugging percentage because this will give good perspective on his overall hitting and hitting for power. A few points stick out when looking at this info. His average was lowest when he hit his most HRs (2006) but the following year (2007) he hit 19 less homeruns (he was dealing with a knee injury) but increased his average by almost 50 points. Additionally, his slugging percentage was similar for both years which shows that he was still hitting for power. In 2008 there is a sharp decline in all of these categories but he was also out with wrist injury for two months and was not the same when he came back. So, you could argue he’s not fully healed but then the Red Sox would have put him on the DL, you could argue that he’s getting old but he is only 33. Again, I do not believe this has to do with steroids, even if he was coming off steroids it would be fair to assume that he would have a couple more homeruns and a higher slugging percentage.
My answer to fixing this slump is simple. TAKE A MINI-VACATION. He needs to take considerable time off but not too much. Take 10 days, do not hit, do not practice, and just relax. The 60 day DL or minor league assignment does not help him. Sixty days is too long and more at-bats is not necessarily the issue. He needs to clear his head, completely. The time off should be non-baseball related. He can workout but should stop swinging. It’s a hard thing to do but it needs to happen. Then comeback and re-work his swing. He’s at the point where he’s tried everything else. So giving him something do not is not the answer, instead give him something NOT to do.
My reason for this is not so simple. His stats show a dramatic dropoff. One that defies most logic. Compare him to another struggling hitter this year, Jimmy Rollins, who is a lead off hitter, not a power hitter and his stats are still better despite a huge drop off. (Rollins has 3 HRs and a slugging percentage of .332) So what’s the problem? Starting with Ortiz’s swing, its looks bad and uncomfortable. Working out the kinks during a game is hurting the team and frustrating him more. Fixing flaws when you are in a big slump rarely works. That methods is better suited for early on in slumps. Beyond his mechanics, he is clearly pressing; he’s trying too hard. Also I think his expectations of his own performance for the season were too high. He wants to prove it wasn’t simply Manny hitting behind him that made him great. He wants to separate himself from the steroid era. But forget all of those reasons, at this point he is just trying too hard. He’s not seeing the ball well because his focus is on trying to get a HR, instead of seeing the ball and reacting. Yes his swing looks slower but it’s probably because he’s trying to guess pitches (big mistake at any level) due to his current lack of confidence. These expectations and decisions can turn from positives and motivators to built-in excuses and reasons for lowering one’s confidence. For example, to “help” take the pressure off of him the Red Sox moved him down to 6th in the line-up. He still looks the same (1-7 as of this post) and now his failures probably feel worse and are more frustrating because he’s hitting in an “easier ” spot.
This should be a lesson for any athlete. Sometimes during a slump you need to step away from the sport. In rare situations like this trying to use imagery, relaxation skills, or set new goals does not necessarily help. When you have tried everything and there is no physical ailments, take some time for yourself. It’s asking too much of yourself to change mentally when you are faced your with slump everyday. Taking a small break is not admitting failure, it is giving yourself a chance to succeed.
*PS- Part 2 of this post will explore how to take a break when you are part of a team.
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