Royals’ Hunter Dozier is doing these things right at the plate even as his stats lag
Yes. Kansas City Royals third baseman/outfielder Hunter Dozier is aware that his offensive statistics this season haven’t exactly been intimidating. Putting the batting average in large numbers on a video board doesn’t change the facts.
Dozier, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed slugger, has felt every bit of the early-season funk that has included a slash line of .138/.200/.277 through his first 19 games and 65 at-bats.
The thumb injury that forced him in and out of the lineup for the first couple weeks of the season may have played a role in that diminished production, but Dozier downplays that when it comes up.
He tries to focus on the positives, but he’s not a robot. Though it might be a lot easier at times if he were.
“That’s something I’ve always kind of harped on over the past couple years, not really worrying about the results — at least trying not to,” Dozier said early in the week.
How does Dozier try to maintain a laser-like focus on “the process” of hitting and handling the sometimes fickle nature offense?
Part of his method has been to focus on a statistic that isn’t on a baseball card or any box score.
“Something I do after each game is I keep track of my quality at-bats,” Dozier said before the series finale in Detroit. “I have my own standard. My goal every year is to have over 50% quality at-bats. I’ve done this since 2018. I know I’m hitting .120 or something right now, but my quality at-bats are at 50% right now. So I’m reaching my goal in that.”
For Dozier, it’s a matter of keeping track of his ability to contribute to wins and giving himself credit for a plate appearance that isn’t necessarily a hit yet still helps his team in a substantial way.
Certainly a hit counts, but he also includes things like walks, driving in a run, moving a runner over, making the pitcher throw 10 pitches or more or making hard contact even if the ball ends up in an out.
“It helps me stay away from what my stats are on the scoreboard, not pay attention to that because I can’t control the results,” Dozier said. “If I could, I would get a hit every time or hit a home run every time. You just can’t do that.”
He has had encouraging signs like the two-run triple ripped into the left-center field gap on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. He blasted several hard-hit outs in the games leading up in both Detroit and Pittsburgh.
Dozier isn’t the lone hitter who hasn’t yet reached the level of production his past performance indicates he’s capable of achieving.
Through 23 games, the regulars in the Royals lineup batting below .240 included left fielder Andrew Benintendi (.234 with a .322 OBP) and Jorge Soler (.213 with a .318 OBP) as well as Dozier.
Staying the course
“He’s had a lot of hard outs,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Dozier recently. “Does that completely clear them and their conscious that ‘I’m doing a great job?’
“The answer is no. They’d take three bloopers in a heartbeat, but it’s just the reality of it. That’s our job as a staff, keep pointing out the truth.”
Regardless of statistics, good or bad, the coaching staff beats the drum daily with hitters about chasing bad pitches, having a solid plan and approach at the plate and having solid swing mechanics that allow hitters to execute in the batter’s box.
If that all is in place, and a player has demonstrated the ability to perform at the major-league level, the staff isn’t going to take drastic measures.
Their job is to reinforce the importance of staying the course.
“It’s completely normal when you look up there and you see a batting average half your body weight, it’s worrisome to you,” Matheny said. “(Dozier) came in the other day and told me, ‘I’m close. I’m getting it.’ I’m like, get outta here. You’re fine. I’m not even thinking about you a little bit. Let’s go. You’re fine.”
The Royals entered this weekend’s series in Minnesota with the best record in the majors.
It’s not easy to maintain that tunnel vision on “the process” for any player. But when the final score consistently overrides individual statistics, it can help take some of the anxiety out of a slump.
Whit Merrifield, a career .295 hitter, entered the weekend with a slash line of .218/.274/.255 with just two extra-base hits in his last 14 games.
“At the end of the day this little stretch I’ve been going through where I haven’t been hitting the ball very hard and timing has been off, I haven’t found many barrels, has been a lot easier to maneuver when we’re winning baseball games,” Merrifield said. “It doesn’t really phase me like it would have in the past when we were losing.”
Merrifield summed up the ultimate balance between individual performance and team goals pretty succinctly.
“If we win, regardless of how I did, I did enough that day,” Merrifield said.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Royals’ Hunter Dozier is doing these things right at the plate even as his stats lag."
