If It's Broke, Joe, Fix It

The old saying says that, if something isn't broke, you don't try to fix it.  Although that's the philosophy, it should also be allowed to work in reverse order.  If something's not working, then a different tactic needs to be tried.  This flip-flopped mentality should be one adopted by Mr. Joe Mauer.  Just because he might be a three-time American League batting champ, doesn't mean he shouldn't need to adapt to the changing landscape.

It's hard to argue with success, but that doesn't mean you can't.  As we've seen Joe struggle over the years, when he actually has, many fans tend to fall into the "look at his track record" stance.  Prior to this season, Mauer has it .347, .293, .328, .365, and .327 over his last five campaigns.  His career batting average is .325.  So, when we see Mauer struggle, many fans just assume that he'll find his way out of it, just based on his past history.  The real question should be, how long does one wait before making a change to improve?  If Mauer continues on his current pace, hitting only .200 thus far during his injury plagued 2011 season, when is it time for Joe to tweak things up a bit?  After the season?  After he struggles in 2012?  Or, should he learn to adapt immediately?  In my opinion, the change needs to happen sooner, rather than later!

Watching Mauer since his return to the lineup on June 17th, his approach to the plate doesn't appear to be any different than it has been in the past.  In 22 total plate appearances since his return, he has taken a total of 10 first-pitch strikes, more than likely balls right down the heart of the plate.  Out of those 22 plate appearances, only twice did he not take a first strike, once resulting in a four-pitch walk and once resulting in a fly-out to center.  The other 20 at-bats, the first strike thrown to Mauer, he watched go right by him.  Often times, this results in him being immediately behind in the count.  Not including 2011, here are Joe's stats behind, even, and ahead in the count:

Behind In The Count:  272 for 1,000 = .272 Average

Even In The Count:  356 for 1,073 = .332 Average

Ahead In The Count:  383 for 1,019 = .376 Average

When you look at those numbers, it doesn't seem like the smartest idea to get behind in the count by taking a first-pitch strike right away.  It's something many fans have even joked about during Mauer at-bats.  It's common knowledge around the league that you can get ahead of Mauer right away, just by throwing a fast ball down the middle on the first pitch, because he won't swing at it.  Oh, it should also be noted that, over the last three seasons, Mauer is hitting .463 with 8 doubles, 5 HR's, and 23 RBI's when swinging at the first pitch.  In 2009, in 523 total at-bats, Mauer swung at a total of 19 first pitches.  Of those 19 first pitches he took a whack at, Mauer had 9 hits, including one double and three HR's.  When certain undisciplined hitters (i.e. Delmon Young) swing at the first pitch, it often gives the notion a bad name.  But, when you're one of the most disciplined, cerebral hitters in baseball, it might not be a terrible idea.

Now that we've addressed the first strike issue with Joe, we need to discuss where he's actually hitting the ball.  I joked earlier in the week about the notion of the "Mauer Shift", saying that if teams were smart, they would bring all three outfielders onto the third base side of second base.  All joking aside, over his career, probably more than any other hitter in baseball, Joe Mauer has made a living hitting the ball to the opposite field.  In his MVP season of 2009, Mauer had a .510 average hitting the ball to left field.  It's something he's perfected from the time he came into the big leagues.  However, I want you to think about something for a moment.  Early in his career, Michael Jordan was one of the NBA's best at getting to the rim, finishing with acrobatic mid-air moves and even more spectacular dunks.  At some point just before he led the Bulls to their first three NBA Championships, he made a decision to expand his game out to the perimeter, where he quickly became one of the best shooters in the game.  Sometimes, a player just needs to make the necessary change to evolve into something greater.  It appeared we started to see that evolution in 2009 with Mauer, but unlike Jordan, he's been unable to sustain that evolved state.

We all understand that Joe is coming back from an injury, which is no doubt affecting his abilities at the plate somewhat.  What most people aren't realizing is that, the ability to adapt and evolve was present in 2009, and disappeared in 2010.  It was almost as if Joe was saying, "See, I can hit for both average and power, so now you can leave me alone."  It seems as though for one season, he proved he could do it, but has chosen not to pursue that style anymore.  We've seen it done once before, now we need to start seeing Joe get back to that.  As of now, it appears he's more interested in flipping the ball into left field than he does driving the ball to a gap.  Because of this perception, teams are using Mauer's hitting style against him.  They are getting him started with a first-pitch strike, then proceeding to pitch him inside, knowing that rather than pull the ball to right field, he will inevitably try to inside-out the ball to left.  Joe needs to evolve as a great hitter and learn to adapt to this opposing strategy.

There is no doubt that Joe Mauer is one of the greatest hitters of this generation.  It's probably also a safe bet that his three batting titles are great credentials for a ticket to Cooperstown when he's done playing.  But what makes great players great is, not only their ability to, but their drive to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the game.  For the Twins to be successful this season, and those going forward, they'll need their All-Star catcher to find the drive to go with his unquestionable ability.