Neil's Slump Column
So far there's no cure and it's unlikely there will ever be one.
Everything has been tried. Extra batting practice, good luck charms, hypnosis, boycotting the shower and even prayer.
Nothing seems to work.
Some baseball people believe if you ignore it, it will go away. But giving it the silent treatment hasn't proven to be effective either.
It discriminates against no one. Not Joe DiMaggio, not Barry Bonds, not Derek Jeter. No one is exempt, including Provo Angels outfielder Michael Hughes.
Heading into Friday's game against Missoula, Hughes was hitting .123 this season. He's reminded of this fact every time he steps into the batters box and looks up at the scoreboard at Miller Field.
But Provo Angels manager Tom Kotchman still believes in Hughes.
"That hasn't kept me from playing him," Kotchman said. "He's a perfect example of a kid that might take off. He's a strong kid and he works hard. He's just had bad luck."
This week Kotchman gave Hughes a slump buster, something to lighten the mood. It was a humorous photo to hang in his locker that Kotchman hoped would help take a few ounces off Hughes' bat that's been cracking from the weight of his slump.
"I suppose it looks like I'm handling it well, but it's pretty tough," Hughes said while tugging on his hand, obviously a little uncomfortable talking about the subject.
"I can't remember being in a worse slump. I wish I could put my finger on what's wrong. It's probably a combination of things."
This slump stuff is fairly new to Hughes, who played at University of Chicago. He led UIC in nine different offensive categories last year, including batting average (.364) and hits (78). His 13 home runs were the second most in school history.
In 214 at-bats last year he had 78 hits. So far this year he has eight hits in 65 at-bats.
On Wednesday night he went 0-for-3 with a walk. He hit a fly ball to the warning track in right field. He just missed that one. He chopped a ball down the first base line that could have been called fair or foul. It was ruled fair, of course, and went for an out.
Then on Thursday he went 1-for-4 and raised his average to .123.
He's still looking for his first two-hit game of the season.
If there is any consolation, Hughes is in good company.
In 1941, DiMaggio had 18 hits in his first 36 at-bats, and then started swinging like Bob Uecker. He went on a 7-for-43 slide where his batting average crashed more than 200 points and hit rock bottom at .194.
Joe DiMaggio hitting below the Mendoza line?
DiMaggio then hit safely in his next 56 games.
Slumps can strike without warning, any time, anywhere.
Bonds once went hitless in 22 at-bats. Cal Ripken suffered through an 0-for-29 drought. Robin Ventura was 0-for-41. Todd Zeile suffered through an 0-for-44 slump. Marv Owen, a .317 hitter for the Tigers in 1934, went hitless in 31 straight at-bats in the 1934 and '35 World Series.
Dan Wilson was hitless in 42 at-bats in the 2000 playoffs.
But the expert on the subject is Bob Buhl, who went hitless playing for the Braves and Cubs in 1962, covering 70 at-bats.
Even all the money New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner carries in his bank account can't keep his players from slumping.
Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter entered 2004 with a .317 lifetime batting average, but at one point earlier this season he was hitless in 32 at-bats. He's raised his average to .277.
I sat by a major league scout once who told me that one of the keys to evaluating players is to see how they handle failure.
How do they react when they strike out looking at a pitch that's outside? What does a pitcher do when he gives up the game-winning home run?
Slumps do have a place in the game. Slumps force feed patience. A patient hitter will make adjustments and emerge from the slump with something to show for all those 0-for-4s. They'll emerge from their slump a better overall hitter. More mentally tough. Quality at-bats will be produced more frequently.
Last season, Provo Angels second baseman Howard Kendrick started the season 4-for-40 and ended up hitting .368.
Kotchman believes Hughes will do the same thing.
"Howard Kendrick started out the season 4-for-40. Reggie Willits and Matt Pali were both hitting under .200 at this time last year, but they all made adjustments and they absolutely went on tears," Kotchman said.
"With Mike Hughes, I don't even look at his batting average. He hits the ball hard enough to be hitting .300. Numbers can be deceiving. You can have a guy hitting .300, but it's a soft .300, he's not hitting the ball very hard. Kevin Costner was right (in the movie 'Bull Durham') when he said the difference between a .300 hitter and a .250 hitter is one hit a week. One bloop, one dork a week."
Right now Hughes could use a few Texas Leaguers, a couple check-swing singles.
"I just have a feeling that I'm going to get a broken-bat single and that's the thing that's going to turn it around for me," Hughes said. "I appreciate his (Kotchman's) patience and confidence in me. I believe I'll get it turned around."
But when?
It's the waiting that kills you. There's so much time to think about it.
There's a book next to Hughes' bed called, "The Louisville Slugger Book on Hitting."
I wonder if there is a section in the book where it says that once Joe DiMaggio snapped his slump, you couldn't find a tougher out in baseball?
