Joey Bart’s struggles at the plate led to his demotion to Triple-A in early June, and one former Giants slugger turned coach has weighed in on how the catcher can turn things around.
San Francisco fans know Pat Burrell as the power-hitting outfielder who helped bring the city’s first World Series championship to Third and King. These days, he’s helping the organization’s minor leaguers find their swing as hitting coach for the San Jose Giants.
Across his 12 MLB seasons, “Pat the Bat” learned firsthand that a majority of success in the batter’s box comes from having a good mental approach. During an appearance on KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” show Monday, he shared some advice for the former No. 2 overall pick Bart, who was supposed to be heir apparent to Buster Posey.
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“We did a drill with all of our minor league players a couple of years ago,” Burrell said. “The mental skills team came in and they asked all the players how much of baseball is mental versus physical. More than 80 percent of the guys lined up on the 75 percent of baseball being mental as opposed to physical.
“So when I see a guy struggle like [Bart has], first of all, I feel for him. God, I know how it is.”
Burrell detailed his 2003 season with the Philadelphia Phillies when he posted the worst batting average of his career at .209 after a successful 2002 campaign that saw him slash .282/.376/.544. After that deflating year, of course, Burrell bounced back and eventually won rings with the Phillies in 2008 and the Giants in 2010.
“So sometimes you just have bad years,” he said. “I think, again, with the adversity of what’s gone on, I think it will only help this guy. I think he’ll be stronger because of it. But I think in the end, he’s going to have to come to something within himself whether he’s upset, whether he’s angry, whether he forms a chip on his shoulder.
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“I think those are good things, because I think he’s got to find out what it is that makes him go.”
Bart’s ongoing struggles came to a head on June 8 when the Giants traded for catcher Austin Wynns, effectively finding a replacement for Bart behind the plate so he could return to Sacramento to work on his hitting.
In his last 25 at-bats with the Giants, Bart struck out 15 times and collected just two hits. His average had dropped to .156 with strikeouts in 49 of 108 plate appearances.
So far with the River Cats, Bart is 4-for-11 with two walks and two strikeouts in three games. Success at any level starts with the player’s mindset, Burrell said, and regaining his confidence in Sacramento could do wonders for Bart’s chances of returning to the big league roster.
“Of course, there’s maybe some technical stuff, but we’ve got to get Joey liking baseball,” Burrell said. “Got to get him feeling comfortable out there. I think that’s number one. And that may take some time, but we certainly have the resources and the people around to try and help them.”
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Most young players lost a year of development after the 2020 MiLB season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making that extra time Burrell spoke of all the more important.
As Bart looks to make good on expectations -- both his own and the Giants organization’s -- all Burrell and other coaches can do is remind him why he has been given this opportunity in the first place.
“All I do is, if I get a chance to talk to him, is just keep reminding him how good he is,” Burrell said. “It’s easy to forget. It’s a humbling game, but it’s how you get up off the mat. And that’s what I’m hoping to see here.”