SAN FRANCISCO – This isn’t the first time Troy Tulowitzki has opened the season in a prolonged slump. Back in 2008, for example, he slashed .152/.226/.238 over 116 plate appearances in 27 games before hitting the disabled list with a torn tendon in his left quad April 30. The struggles continued when he returned June 20 until a laceration on his right hand sent him back to the DL July 5-21. It wasn’t until July 25 that he climbed over .200 for good, closing out the year with a .315/.380/.460 flourish. In 2009, he was batting .198 on May 7 before posting a .975 OPS over his remaining 125 games. There have been other extended droughts, too. Eventually, the five-time all-star figures things out.
"I don’t feel like I’ve come into my own yet," Tulowitzki says of his struggles with the Toronto Blue Jays during in an interview. "I think I’ve just been continuously grinding, really, trying to find myself up there at the plate. But I’ve dealt with it before and I came out of it. It’s just hopefully sooner than later."
The Blue Jays are hoping his big night against the San Francisco Giants in Tuesday’s 4-0 win provides the springboard that gets him going. With a homer and a double, he collected only his third multi-hit game of the year, and his three RBIs matched a season best. Still, his slash line sat at .178/.272/.347 heading into Wednesday’s series finale at AT&T Park, and given that he’s among the game’s most intense competitors, those numbers are tough for him to take, especially given how many other Blue Jays are cold at the plate around him. The buildup of pressure prompted manager John Gibbons to tell "all the Tulo haters out there, suck on that one for tonight."
"It’s just a matter of time," Gibbons continued, "and I tip my hat to him because he’s been taking a lot of heat, he’s been working hard and you know what? He’s a damn good player."
Outside the clubhouse walls, that’s a point that often gets forgotten, despite Tulowitzki’s lifetime .870 OPS and a glove so brilliant that he has the best fielding percentage all-time among shortstops. Beyond that, he’s described as a generous teammate who puts others before himself, and who cares so deeply that he works himself relentlessly to find success. The presence, demeanour and manner in which he carries himself is reminiscent of Derek Jeter.
Yet some have wondered if Tulowitzki might help himself by easing off the throttle a little bit at times. It’s a thought he wants no part of.
"You’ve got to go further into the individual and see why are they like that," he explains. "For me, I was never a big recruit coming out of high school. Until I got drafted out of college, that’s when people started to expect things out of me, and I got to the place where I was at being the same way. That’s someone who works really hard, and at times grinds himself. So for me to go down a different way isn’t really my style. That’s kind of what makes me. Now, to say that’s the only way, and that’s the right way, I’m not sure. But that’s all I know and it’s gotten me this far, so you stick with it, you don’t run away from it."
Sticking with it has meant extra sessions in the batting cage, studying his swing, trying different things and talking hitting. The Josh Donaldson-esque leg kick Tulowitzki experimented with in the spring is gone in favour of his more familiar toe-tap, while smaller tweaks have been made to adjust his bat path. No stone has been left unturned.
"I’ll do anything that I think is going to make me better," says Tulowitzki. "That’s at times watching video, that’s at times watching no video. I’ve done everything to try to get myself to a point that I can be more successful. Sometimes you dig a deeper hole, and sometimes you do make yourself better."
To his credit, he’s made sure to contribute with his glove when he’s been unable to pitch in with his bat. The brand of shortstop he plays is akin to art with a grace and fluidity designed to create maximum efficiency. His impact on the infield since his acquisition from the Colorado Rockies last summer is one of the primary reasons the Blue Jays took off in the standings.
"If you’re not getting hits yourself you want to take away as many hits as possible," he says. "That’s what I try to concentrate on."
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No issues there, but more complicated for him has been not carrying one at-bat into the next trip up.
"That’s the goal, it’s easier said than done," Tulowitzki says. "There are times where if you leave runners stranded that the at-bat is going to affect me more than maybe if I was just the leadoff hitter in the inning, because you want to come through for your team. But that doesn’t mean you’re in the tank and can’t provide help for your team the rest of the game."
And so Tulowitzki finds comfort in his preparation and work, trusts in his abilities, finds ways to contribute and seeks out ways to simplify things at the plate. He relies on his competitiveness in the batter’s box, trying to keep himself from making an at-bat too technical.
Back to basics, in a sense.
"My body feels good. I feel great, no excuses, I want to play better, I want to play better than (everybody) wants me to, I promise you that," says Tulowitzki. "I’ve spent a lot of time at this game, we’ll figure it out and hopefully here soon we’ll be talking about my hot streak and the team winning games."