TORONTO -- Matt Davidson looks at how fellow rookie Aaron Judge has performed this season and marvels at the New York Yankees slugger’s consistency.
Second among American League rookies to Judge in home runs, Davidson is in awe of how his counterpart has managed to replicate both swing and approach on a daily basis while he endures the daily rigors of life in the majors.
Davidson, who continued a tear of his own on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays with a first-inning double, hopes to take one aspect of Judge’s approach and apply it to his own. He thinks staying relaxed at the plate has played a huge role in a current run that has resulted in home runs in four straight games.
“That he’s kept very consistent like this is very impressive because that’s the hardest thing in baseball is you play every day and want to replicate the same thing, but you don’t feel the same way,” Davidson said. “I know when I struggle I’m too tense and you can tell he’s very relaxed up there.
“My biggest thing I’ve done lately is I’ve completely relaxed and took the tension out and not panicked up there.”
It wasn’t long ago Davidson was in the exact opposite place he is now. After he blasted his 10th homer on May 28, Davidson went into an extended funk, going 4-for-30 with no homers, 19 strikeouts and one walk between May 29-June 9.
On June 10, Davidson followed Todd Frazier down to the bullpen to stand in against one of the team’s starting pitcher and track pitches. Frazier, who has had a hot June of his own because of improved pitch selection, predicted Davidson would catch fire. Later that night, Davidson’s two-run single in the first inning helped the White Sox take a lead against the Cleveland Indians they wouldn’t relinquish.
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Davidson hasn’t slowed down much since.
“I’m really not trying to swing hard at all and I’ve been able have a better and put the barrel on the ball better,” Davidson said.
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Davidson said he’s simply trying to not overanalyze what he’s doing right or wrong so he can get prepared for the next night’s game. He likes how Judge always looks calm. Manager Rick Renteria said he’s seen a more relaxed approach from Davidson recently, too.
“If you try to think about a lot of things, your mind starts racing,” Renteria said. “He’s absolutely right. He’s staying much more relaxed and focused on just a simple approach. He looks very relaxed, and when he gets pitches he can handle, he puts a pretty good charge into them. Hopefully that will continue.”
That Davidson’s demeanor stayed the same despite his struggles isn’t a surprise to Jim Thome, the team’s special assistant to the general manager. Thome has spent a lot of time working with Davidson the past few seasons while he struggled in the minors. Despite his issues, Thome always found that Davidson was the same.
“When I look back to three years ago, he’s never changed,” Thome said. “The best part about him is his makeup.”
The big power bat isn’t bad, either, especially when Davidson is locked in as he is now. Davidson entered Friday with homers in four straight games, one shy of the team record.
Though he’s 26 and debuted back in 2013, Davidson still qualifies as a rookie. He’s been around, but he’s inexperienced, which means Davidson is still learning to manage life in the majors. That means finding a way to put his best game forward every day no matter how he feels.
Earlier this season, Renteria could hide Davidson more often when he had Cody Asche to face the tougher right-handed pitchers. Renteria doesn’t have that luxury now and Davidson is playing much more consistently, which has led to some struggles.
But Davidson sees it all as critical experience and he’s learning how to manage. If he can learn a little something from Judge, he won’t complain about it, either.
“It has to be one of the most mentally challenging tasks in the world,” Davidson said. “There’s no days off. You’ve got prepare every day and you have to compete. You basically see what you’re worth that day. It’s every day. You don’t get a couple days off, or three days to get it right, it’s every single day with travel. We all know that and that’s why you know all it takes is one game, one at-bat to get back. That’s where you can’t get too high or too low, you can’t look into things on either side.”
“It looks like (Judge is) not trying to do too much at all right now, which is very impressive for his size and strength.”