The Importance of Keeping the Pressure Off
In 2006, Michael Cuddyer finally had his breakout season, batting .284/.362/.504 with 24 HRs and 109 RsBI. A few things conspired to make that season possible. The first: Cuddyer had finally gotten 1000 ABs under his belt at the major league level. The second: Gardenhire stopped changing his position every day. The third: Gardenhire took the pressure off by making him the starting right fielder regardless of his performance on a day-to-day basis. That faith was very well rewarded.
This week, Cuddyer competed in a home run derby with several other major leaguers who grew up in the same area. The other competitors were Mark Reynolds, BJ Upton, Justion Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, and David Wright. Glancing at that list of names, one wouldn't think Cuddyer has that much of a chance in a home run derby. Apparently, his odds to win were 11-to-1.
And then he stepped into the box and launched 29 homers in three rounds (including stopping early in the second round after he clinched it) to win the competition. He beat David Wright 14-5 in the final round. And after collecting the trophy, he had this to say: "I hadn't hit a baseball since my final swing of the season. I had no idea how I'd do."
Cuddyer had a disappointing season in 2007, definitely a step back from 2006. Given this evidence, I'm coming to the conclusion that Cuddyer was pressing this year to live up to his newfound reputation, and the results were the same as every other time he's tried too hard. Someone needs to tell him to just go out there, relax, and hit the ball. If he does that, we'll have our old Cuddyer back.
Posted by Sean Schulte at 2007-11-18 08:07:00
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