Advertisement

Could a new hitting coach, approach ignite Steven Souza Jr.?

 
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) in the dugout after scoring on the sacrifice fly by catcher Jesus Sucre (45) in the second inning of the game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. on Thursday, March 23, 2017.
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) in the dugout after scoring on the sacrifice fly by catcher Jesus Sucre (45) in the second inning of the game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. on Thursday, March 23, 2017.
Published March 31, 2017

PORT CHARLOTTE — When this season is over and Steven Souza Jr., is back home in Seattle with his wife, Mikaela, and his son, Micah, making up rap songs on the fly to make his boy laugh, he hopes to look back on 2017 and see this:

He was healthy, the Rays reached the postseason and he had a role in that success.

"I don't have (statistical) goals," Souza said. "I want to be able to say, 'Man, I came to the park 162 days, played to the best of my ability and I was who I was for 162 games.' "

Souza couldn't do that after the 2015 season, when he missed 50 games with two injuries to his hand, and after last season, when he missed 40 games with a left hip injury that eventually required season-ending surgery.

Souza began strong last season and finished strong. Between, he was hindered by his hip.

"If you look at his track record, when he comes back from those injuries it generally has taken him a little bit of time to get his timing back," manager Kevin Cash said.

RELATED: About those Opening Day tickets ...

It wasn't until September when Souza fond his swing. He hit .385 with a .478 on-base percentage and a .718 slugging percentage, four home runs and six RBIs in an 11-game stretch that ended when he opted for the surgery to repair a labral tear and impingement in his left hip.

By then Souza was working with new hitting coach Chad Mottola, who encouraged Souza to win the at-bat.

"More focusing on competing in the box than (on) numbers and production in general," Souza said.

Instead of coming to the park thinking he has to get two hits in a game or stepping into the batter's box thinking he has to hit one out, Souza said he will focus on having a productive at-bat, concentrating more on the game situation than his numbers.

"It's somewhat normal that we all try too hard during games. We want to compete," Mottola said. "It's just allowing him to let his tools play."

RELATED: A great first impression for the newest Ray

Mottola noticed how relaxed Souza was during his unusual pregame hitting routine, in which he wears special goggles that blink to restrict his vision and swings at smaller balls to sharpen his batting eye. But come game time, Mottola saw Souza press when it was his time to hit.

"He was overthinking," Mottola said.

The idea was to simplify Souza's approach.

"During games we're always chasing the previous result and I just said we can't even practice that way anymore because we're just chasing our tail. We're just spinning around. We never get to build anything," Mottola said. "So let's compete this at-bat and not let the result drift into the next at-bat. Each bat is a single at-bat. If we do that 600 times, everything will come together."

RELATED: What's new to eat at the Trop

That's Souza's hope: a full season. A chance to show Rays fans, a chance to show himself what he can do at the big-league level during an uninterrupted campaign.

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

"The No. 1 thing is I want to look back and see a healthy year and what happens with a healthy year," Souza said. "We keep going like, what if I played those 50 games? What if I played those 40 games? Where would I have ended up? I don't want to do that anymore. I want to say I played 160 (games). This is who I am."

Steven Souza Jr. With the Rays

A statistical look at Souza's two seasons in Tampa Bay:

YearAgeGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015 26 110 426 373 59 84 15 1 16 40 12 6 46 144 0.225 0.318 0.399 0.717
2016 27 120 468 430 58 106 17 1 17 49 7 6 31 159 0.247 0.303 0.409 0.713
Rays totals null 251 920 826 119 193 32 2 35 91 19 12 80 310 0.234 0.308 0.404 0.712
162 Game Avg. null 162 594 533 77 125 21 1 23 59 12 8 52 200 0.234 0.308 0.404 0.712