Paul Konerko could be one of the most underrated hitters in the big leagues. He routinely puts up great numbers, but most people tend to look in other directions when talking about great hitters.
I’ve always liked Konerko, not just for his bat, but the way he talks about hitting, and the things you need to do to be successful. A few years ago, when I wrote articles for another web site, I submitted an article called “Swinging for Doubles.” It was about Paul Konerko’s hitting approach, whether it’s during B.P. or a game. When I find it in my archives, I’ll send it your way.
Today’s link isn’t about how you should swing, but rather how you need to handle your results… specifically failure.
Konerko admits to being a work-in-progress when it comes to handling failure as well as he’d like, but from the sound of it, he’s better off than most hitters.
Here are a few lines that stuck out for me…
On failure:
“There’s so much failure in this game,” Konerko said. “Getting too high isn’t a problem for most guys. Getting too low can be. It was for me. It’s been an ongoing battle. For a good couple years, I’ve been more rational how I view the negatives, the failures, and that’s only helped me get better. You kind of get tired of beating yourself up.
On having a routine (as told by Gordon Beckham):
“It’s his diligence,” White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham said. “His whole day is regimented. A lot of the best players in history had a routine, and he sticks to his. Except it’s more than that. He grew because of it.”
On doing “his job”:
“Sometimes you don’t do the job, you fail, and you can never, ever think about it again,” Konerko said. “You crumple it up, throw it out and bury it. It’s not easy. To be successful, you need a short memory on some things and a long one on others. For some people that comes easy.
“Not me.”
On bat speed:
“There’s time when your swing’s efficient,” Konerko said. “It’s not the actual bat speed. There are a million guys with more bat speed than me. That’s the equivalent of saying if you throw really hard, you’re the best pitcher in the league. I go for efficiency.
Rather than reprint the entire article here, let me just drop the link at the bottom of the post. It’s a great read, and very important for all hitters to understand.
Here’s the link: Inner peace keys Konerko’s surge
Coach Bones
