This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson's Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Listen to David Popkins speak about hitting for a few minutes, and you¡¯ll walk away thinking that you could bat .250 in the big leagues tomorrow.
The Blue Jays¡¯ new hitting coach is leading an identity change, but he doesn¡¯t want to slap a rigid identity on any of this. Tasked with injecting some life into a lineup that¡¯s too often been dormant since that incredible 2021 season, Popkins is preaching a new approach. Good teams can beat you one way, Popkins believes, but great teams can beat you in every way.
¡°My philosophy is built off of creativity,¡± Popkins said. ¡°We¡¯re trying to become the most creative lineup at scoring runs in baseball. We do that by practicing all of the different situations and clubs that we¡¯re going to need in the game.¡±
Clubs. There¡¯s the first metaphor Popkins will mix in.
Some situations call for a pitching wedge or a seven iron, chasing contact in certain counts or trying to shoot a line drive the other way. Everyone knows it¡¯s all about letting the driver rip, though. Popkins wants his hitters to set themselves up for those moments and take their chances. There needs to be some risk involved.
¡°When you earn those counts, you have the right to get something off and if you chase a pitch, that¡¯s OK,¡± Popkins said. ¡°We have to give them forgiveness and tell them where they can fail. If you try to do everything, you¡¯re not going to do anything. When you get in those spots, they probably felt that they didn¡¯t want to chase, didn¡¯t want to make a mistake. If you¡¯re afraid to make a mistake, you lose that attack. If you¡¯re not attacking, you¡¯re getting attacked in this game. It¡¯s about reminding guys that they¡¯re dangerous.¡±
This has to be music to the ears of Blue Jays fans who have watched this lineup, which broke baseballs in half in ¡¯21, retreat to become more focused on contact and moving runners from base to base. The approach, while less volatile, hasn¡¯t exactly led the Blue Jays to a World Series. There needs to be some balance involved here -- you can¡¯t turn every at-bat into a Home Run Derby -- but that¡¯s where all these sports metaphors keep coming in.
¡°You¡¯ve got to take your knocks, take your jabs, take your toss to the running back, right?¡± Popkins said. ¡°You¡¯ve got to break them down and get them to overcommit, then we can go back over the top. That¡¯s how I think of it. Are we always going to work on our damage swings, though? One hundred percent. I love damage.¡±
This lineup is built for damage. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Anthony Santander are all capable of hitting 30-plus homers. This lineup shouldn¡¯t be sitting anywhere close to where it ended last season, ranked 26th in MLB with just 156 home runs. Less than a homer a game isn¡¯t going to work.
Popkins¡¯ first task is earning the trust of his hitters, which was a strength of his when he was working with the Twins, most notably star shortstop Carlos Correa.
When a hitting coach has the trust of a hitter, that¡¯s when the magic happens. The moment a player starts questioning their coaching, that¡¯s when too much comes pouring in. Their offseason hitting coach might have ideas. Their college teammate might have ideas. Their dad might have ideas. It gets noisy, quickly.
¡°It¡¯s very important,¡± said John Schneider, who has been thrilled with the hire. ¡°When you¡¯re coming to a new team, you have to go out of your way. What¡¯s that old saying? They don¡¯t care what you know until they know you care. He did that in the offseason. He travelled to see guys. He came up here to hit with Bo and [father] Dante. He stays in constant touch with them. He¡¯s been really good with that and that builds relationships and trust.¡±
Part of Popkins¡¯ early work has been to simplify the Blue Jays¡¯ pregame reports for his hitters, trying to make all of this information make sense for each hitter in the way they want it. It¡¯s a long process, but the initial buy-in from Blue Jays hitters has been encouraging.
Popkins¡¯ energy is apparent, even huddled inside a media room for interviews earlier this week, hiding from the Florida rain. It¡¯s been contagious around camp as the Blue Jays talk about doing things differently on offense, which is exactly what this team needs.