What makes this Chase Headley start so stunning - and pivotal
Chase Headley’s early-season struggles last year were difficult, but he could handle personal disappointment. Been there, done that.
What frustrated the veteran third baseman more than his constant empty trips to the plate last April was what he felt it did to the team. The Yankees dug themselves an early hole last season, starting 8-16, and Headley put it on his shoulders.
“I started extremely poorly, and that contributed to the team starting bad,” he said on Monday before the Yankees opened a three-game series with the White Sox at the Stadium. “I knew I couldn’t start the way I started last year.”
Headley hasn’t, keying the Yankees’ best start (8-4) since 2010, when they began 9-3. Despite injuries to lineup linchpins Gary Sanchez (strained biceps) and Didi Gregorius (strained right shoulder), the Bombers are second in the American League in runs scored (60), a nod to the team’s surprising depth, and the production of Headley.
“It’s a small sample size, but I feel like I’m playing the way I’m capable of,” he said. “I feel like I’m swinging at the pitches I want to, and that’s always a good place to start.
“You get a few hits, you get confident, and things can take off from there.”
He’s leading the team in batting average (.410), hits (16), runs scored (11), and on-base percentage (.531), has four extra-base hits, two of them home runs, and has played a stellar third base. He also has stolen three bases in as many attempts.
“He’s done it all,” manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s the complete opposite of the way he started last year. It’s great to see, because we remember the struggles he went through last year and how hard it was on him.”
It’s indeed quite the contrast from a year ago, when Headley batted .150 in April and didn’t get off the interstate until mid-May. He rebounded to finish the year hitting .251 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .712 OPS. But the start put him, and the Yankees, in a hole.
“You can’t just take a month and two weeks out of the season, and say, ‘Oh, I had a [good] season with the exception of this month and a half,’ ” the 32-year-old Headley said. “It counts.”
Headley has rarely gotten off to starts like this, a career .238 hitter in April over his previous eight seasons. He didn’t change much this offseason. He didn’t have a new workout regimen or begin hitting earlier. He didn’t have a great spring training, either, batting just .200 in 50 at-bats. And yet, Headley has started the season scorching hot.
“I tried to make sure I was focused in spring training and working on the things I felt I need to work on,” he said. “That’s not that much different than any other year. … I really wanted to have a little extra [focus], just making sure I got what I needed.”
Headley said the biggest change is his mechanics, out of whack at this point a year ago. He’s using his legs more and staying in his swing longer, which is in turn giving him a better chance to go the opposite way. He’s reaching more pitches and doing damage with them.
“When you have a little bit of margin for error, you can hit the ball to all parts of the field,” Headley said, “and you don’t have to be perfect all the time.”