I hit .314 that year, Will Clark (the big league first baseman) was moving on, and things were looking pretty good for me, so I thought.  But in June of that year, the Rangers drafted a hot shot 1^st baseman, Carlos Pena, and that winter; they signed All-Star first baseman Rafael Palmero, to a 5-year, 45 million dollar contract.  Not good news for the AAA first baseman.  The news got worse.  The next Spring Training, the minor league staff asked me to mentor the young Pena, who was fresh out of college and new to the professional game.  It was an assignment I reluctantly accepted.  Carlos' rise in the Texas organization eventually made me expendable in the Rangers organization.  But, we remained friends and the mentoring job I accepted in the spring of 1999 blossomed to a 9-year friendship.  And even when I was trying to take his job in 2004, when he was the everyday 1^st baseman with the Tigers and I was having the best season of my career in AAA, Toledo, we would still talk about hitting, mechanics and approach. 

    I had the pleasure of speaking with him the other day and recapping the wonderful year he had.  After catching up on how are families are doing, we talked for about 20 minutes about what we always enjoy discussing: hitting, mechanics and approach.  For most of Carlos' young career he had been an underachiever.  He had been a starter in the big leagues with Oakland, Detroit, Boston and New York.  He had shown signs of being a star, but had never been able to show the consistency of an everyday player in the big leagues.  That all changed in 2007.  In 148 games, he hit .282 with 46 HR, and 121 RBI's.  He also added 29 doubles and scored 99 runs.  He broke out. 

    There are many lessons to be learned from this young man.  Number one is perseverance.  There were many clubs that had given up on Carlos and it would have been easy for him to give up on himself.  It took him a while to find job last year and finally, was signed as a non-roster invitee to Spring training with the Devil Rays.  I remember the excitement in his voice when he called to tell me he made the team.  He was so excited at another shot at the big leagues.  He was determined to make the most of it, and he did.  What I thought was most interesting about our recent conversation was the mechanical adjustments he made in 2007 that help contribute to his success.  Carlos is a tremendous talent.  That was never a question.  But, he has always been his worst enemy.  He was always in search for the "holy grail" of hitting.  The "secret" to it. What he didn't realize until 2007 was that he held the secret in his hands all along.  I asked Carlos, "What did you do different this year?"  His response was simple.  First of all, he said he got ready to hit early.  He made sure his hands were in a good position to launch.  From there, he said he tried to see the ball as long as he could and then use his hands.  He explained that his approach every at bat was to let the ball get deep and let his swing work. 

   Now, the difference between Carlos and a high school hitter is his hands, strength and swing path are fully developed.  But, there is a valuable lesson to be learned in his adjustment.  No matter the level of baseball you are playing, in order to give yourself the best chance to put a good swing on the ball, you have to be ready on time, you have to stay square to home plate while the ball is in route, and you have to trust your swing.   Now, if you have Carlos Pena talent and you execute that approach every at-bat, a monster year is the result.