The dreaded hitting slump. Anyone who has played the game knows full well what it is and what it feels like. When I was in Little League, I fell into a terrible slump. After a great first season, I slipped to hit .118. I couldn’t get the bat on the ball all season. I tried everything to get out of it. I resorted to going to an empty parking lot, holding the bat in one hand and a ball in the other. I barely threw the ball high enough to just let it hit the bat so I could remember what it felt like. I did this over and over for weeks. Eventually, I hit .333 the following season and improved after that. Yes, I got out of the slump.
Just like us Little Leaguers, Major League players fall into terrible slumps. Some get out, but some never recover.
Let’s look at two MLB players who never recovered from a hitting slump and one who did.
Mitchell Page: He came onto the scene in 1977 with the Oakland A’s and was second in Rookie of the Year voting, hitting .307 with 21 homers and 75 RBI. His OBP was at a .405 clip and throw in 42 steals as well, making it a truly great first season. In 1978, he continued his torrid hitting, but as he went into his ’79 season, something went wrong. He fell into a slump that he never really got out of. He tried everything; even went to see a doctor to work on what was called “muscle memory training.” He starred in a segment from the show “That’s Incredible!” in 1981 to talk about this training. Unfortunately, even though he said there was improvement, it was short-lived. He fell to .141 in 1981 and never really was the same again.
Chris Davis: Anyone who really follows baseball knows about the 0-for-54 slump for this Baltimore Orioles first baseman. It started September 15, 2018, and continued until the following April when he finally snapped it against the Boston Red Sox on April 13. That’s almost eight full months without a hit in the regular season. It was brutal. The fans in Fenway did give him a round of applause once he broke the streak. After three years of hitting under .200, he was done. An injury in 2021 ended his career for good. It’s a really tragic story for a guy who was considered at one time a premiere slugger worthy of a $161 million contract.
On the flip side, players can fight through it and go on to have great careers. Dustin Pedroia was a 5-foot-9 second baseman fighting for a job at the Major League level in 2007 for the Boston Red Sox. His long swing was considered a serious liability, and there were changes that were considered and tried when he fell to a .178 batting average after an 0-3 game against Oakland on May 1. What happened after that was a turnaround that shot him up to a final average of .317 and a Rookie of the Year award. He followed that up to become American League MVP in 2008. He then gave himself the nickname “Laser Show,” one the best all time nicknames, in my opinion!
When you watch the games and watch the players, pay attention to the adjustments they make when they are in this kind of slump. Some will make the right adjustment and continue their career. Others will try and not succeed. Either way, cheer them on. It might just be what they need to end the slump.