Mark Loretta was a stable hitter over 15 massive league seasons, and he was particularly good in 2003 and 2004. Over that two-year span, the right-handed-hitting second baseman slashed .325/.382/.469 with 75 doubles, 29 dwelling runs, and a 129 wRC+ with the San Diego Padres. Contact was one among his sturdy fits. The Northwestern College product had a 7.9% strikeout price to go along with an 8.2% stroll price in 2003-04, numbers largely according to his 9.2% and eight.5% profession marks.
His total manufacturing was comparably modest. Loretta constantly put up excessive batting averages – they ranged between .280 and .335 throughout his 11 full seasons — however he went deep simply 76 instances and completed with a 100 wRC+. These numbers came to visit seven-plus seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, three with the Padres, two-plus with the Houston Astros, and one every with the Boston Purple Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. Your prototypical “skilled hitter,” Loretta debuted in 1995 and performed his final recreation in 2009.
Now a particular assistant with San Diego, Loretta sat down to speak hitting when the Padres performed at Fenway Park in late June.
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David Laurila: Trying again, what type of hitter had been you, and did that change over the course of your profession?
Mark Loretta: “That’s an excellent query. I’d say that I used to be developed and got here up as [someone who hit] contained in the ball, hit the ball up the center, hit it the opposite means, hit it the place it’s pitched. I used to be very contact-oriented. I didn’t actually sit on pitches or promote out for fastballs, I primarily appreciated to see the ball get deep.
“About midway by my profession I made a concerted effort to be taught to drag the ball higher, and extra usually. I believe that’s when my profession kind of took off. I used to be capable of get to maintain that contact-hitter, hit-it-where-it’s-pitched strategy, but additionally deal with the ball inside a lot better.
“My energy — extra doubles, extra dwelling runs — got here after I pulled the ball. For lots of my profession, pitchers would pound me in, pound me in, as a result of I hit the ball effectively the opposite means. I made a few changes with my swing and began wanting a little bit bit extra in after I was in hitter’s counts. I’d lay off the ball middle-away when it was 2-0 or 3-1.”
Laurila: How a lot has hitting modified because you performed?
Loretta: “Properly, I believe the strategy to hitting has modified. The aim remains to be to supply runs — you’re both making an attempt rating runs or drive them in — however now the onus is extra on exit velocity. There are issues we didn’t essentially take into consideration when after I was taking part in. My final yr was 2009, so it’s not prefer it was 40 years in the past, however the type has undoubtedly modified. You see much more guys go up there considering, I’m going to attempt to fireplace off my A-swing for 3 strikes. We by no means thought that means, or a minimum of I didn’t. We had been extra involved with having a two-strike strategy and making contact. Placing out was type of a black eye. No person appreciated to do it, whereas it has turn out to be way more acceptable. Sure issues are valued otherwise.”
Laurila: Let’s say you had been taking part in right now. Do you suppose you’d be the identical hitter you had been?
Loretta: “I believe it might in all probability rely on what group I used to be in, fairly frankly. By way of bio-mechanically… I by no means actually broke down my swing when it comes to, Right here is leverage, right here is the best way to hit the ball. I by no means tried to hit the ball within the air. I used to be making an attempt to hit a line drive. Perhaps I’d have modified that strategy and tried to hit extra fly balls. I don’t know.”
Laurila: Are there any gamers on this Padres group you see as being stylistically just like who you had been as a hitter?
Loretta: “Perhaps Luis Arraez? He’s a man with a brief swing. I used to be right-handed and he’s left-handed, and we’re totally different in our types a little bit bit, however I do suppose the pendulum is swinging again a little bit bit to placing extra emphasis, and worth, on contact and situational hitting. [Padres manager] Mike Shildt and our guys speak lots about that.”
Laurila: Are you able to elaborate on the way you and Arraez are comparable?
Loretta: “Simply actually brief to the ball. Not big bat pace. I wasn’t an enormous bat pace man as a result of I didn’t have an enormous load. I used to be extra making an attempt to be brief, compact, direct to the ball. I wasn’t promoting out for energy.”
Laurila: What are among the conversations you had been referring to? What’s the group in search of?
Loretta: “To make use of a golf analogy, we’ve kind of come to the conclusion that you just wish to have multiple membership in your bag. Let’s attempt to have balanced hitters, a balanced lineup to the place if we’re not hitting the three-run homer we’re getting a bunch of hits. As you noticed final evening, we scored 9 runs in a single inning earlier than making an out. There have been a few dwelling runs in there, however there have been additionally a whole lot of singles. It was a contact-oriented inning. For us, the thought is to be a multifaceted hitter.”
Laurila: How does the group strategy hitting from a coaching perspective?
Loretta: “On the participant growth aspect, we focus lots on coaching at excessive velocity. We’re taking much more batting observe off of high-speed machines, versus off of a coach’s arm or the kind of factor that actually doesn’t mimic hitting in a recreation. There may be a whole lot of emphasis on biomechanics, getting your physique in the appropriate place. After which there may be clearly controlling the strike zone, pitch recognition. We chart that. We worth that. We have a look at all totally different metrics on that.”
Laurila: How is energy approached inside participant growth?
Loretta: “I believe it begins with making an attempt to be an excellent hitter first. One among my least favourite scouting phrases is ‘uncooked energy.’ That’s extra what you are able to do in batting observe, swing as laborious as you may. Properly, you may’t get to your uncooked energy until you make sufficient contact. So, I believe you begin off with a base — a good suggestion of the strike zone, good contact — after which as you get snug with that, the facility can come. Jackson Merrill’s season has been type of like that. He began off simply type of placing the ball in play, after which the facility began to return.”
Laurila: What you want is recreation energy…
Loretta: “Sure. Uncooked energy is dumb to me. Who cares? You may get a bodybuilder out right here that would hit for uncooked energy, however should you can’t hit a 97-mph fastball, how are you going to get to that uncooked energy?”
Laurila: What are among the metrics you care about?
Loretta: “Swing choices. In-zone contact price. And it’s not about simply swinging in zone, it’s swinging in particular zones. Should you’re swinging on 2-0 and the pitch is down and away, even when it’s a strike, that’s not sensible. Try to be in search of one thing middle-middle or middle-in the place you are able to do a little bit bit of injury. I do suppose that exit velocity has worth. You want to make contact, however you additionally wish to hit the ball laborious.”
Laurila: You talked about desirous to not strike out. Should you work deep counts, extra strikeouts are inevitable…
Loretta: “You want to have a two-strike strategy. You’ve received to surrender a little bit bit with two strikes, notably in conditions the place contact drives the run in. I imply, it’s one factor if it’s the third inning and nobody is on base. Each state of affairs is totally different.”
Laurila: Who was the perfect hitter you performed with?
Loretta: “Amongst right-handed hitters, in all probability Manny Ramirez. He was probably the most balanced. He had an unbelievable swing, however he additionally made good swing choices. He clearly had recreation energy. However the perfect hitter of my technology was Todd Helton. He was the perfect pure hitter I noticed throughout my time within the recreation. He may make nice contact with energy. He may hit a number of pitches. He had multiple software in his toolbox.”
Laurila: Any remaining ideas on hitting?
Loretta: “One is that I by no means wished to be ready the place I used to be routinely taking or routinely swinging. I see that lots within the recreation. I see a whole lot of, I’m making my thoughts as much as swing. The pitch all the time ought to dictate whether or not you swing or not. Hitting is a reactionary talent.
“One other is that a whole lot of gamers get caught up of their swings. To me, hitting isn’t a lot about swinging. Clearly, you must swing to hit the ball, however swinging isn’t hitting. Hitting is making the appropriate determination. It’s understanding the pitcher. It’s understanding what the scenario requires. The swing comes final.”
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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can discovered by these hyperlinks: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
