Corey Dickerson on Hitting: Goodbye Coors, Hello Trop

Corey Dickerson has always hit. The 26-year-old outfielder slashed .321/.379/.596 in the minors, and then .299/.345/.534 in parts of three seasons with the Rockies. He doesn’t expect a move from Colorado to Tampa Bay to derail his production.

Maintaining lofty numbers will nonetheless be a challenge. Coors Field is a hitter’s paradise, and Dickerson certainly took advantage. In 122 games at his former home park, he slashed .355/.410/.675. Tropicana Field represents a whole new kettle of fish. Along with catwalks and a “touch tank,” it is among the most pitcher-friendly venues in MLB.

Dickerson’s slow start at the Trop — a .564 OPS — doesn’t mean much. Ten games is ten games. Far more meaningful is the fact that he’s undaunted by his new hitting environment. And don’t expect to hear him complain about inter-division road trips. Compared to the NL West, the AL East is bandbox city.

Dickerson talked about his hitting approach, and acclimating to a new league, on a recent visit to Fenway Park.

———

Dickerson on sticking with his aggressive approach: “If I deviate from what I do, at all, it messes with me both mentally and physically. You get to the major leagues doing what you do best. That’s what you have to stick to: being the best version of you. You might change the way you attack the baseball — you might channel your aggressiveness — but you have to stay true to yourself.

“When I first got called up… everybody tries to help you out. I heard, ‘You have to hit the fastball’ and ‘You have to be a little more patient at the plate; try to see a few more pitches and work better counts.’ But nobody has really ever messed with me. No one has messed with my swing or my stance, or anything like that. They’ve mostly just said, ‘You can hit, so keep doing what you’re doing.’”

On what he looks for at the plate: “Some people guess. Some look for a specific area. I feel I can hit anything on the plate, so I go up there aggressive and looking to do damage. If it’s in the strike zone, I can hit it out, foul line to foul line. I don’t have to think about pulling the ball. All I have to do is look out over the plate. It also doesn’t matter what pitch it is. If it’s a changeup that’s a strike, I’ll let loose on it.

“I will be [more selective] when I’m ahead in the count. I may have a pitch in my head — where I want it — and anything else, I’ll try to let go. Mentally, I want to see it in that area. Your mind is telling your body what to do, so if you go after a different pitch, your body’s not going to know what to do. You want to stick close to your game plan.”

On having a plan: “I feel I’m pretty good at weighing my options. In certain counts, I know the percentages of which pitches I may get. Strapping up my batting gloves, what I’ll be thinking is, ‘What does he throw most in this count?What secondary pitch might he throw here?’ I might be sitting in between or I might be sitting on just one pitch. I’m weighing all options in my head. I’m weighing the numbers and trusting myself from there.

“I’m very aware of a team’s tendencies toward me — how they’re attacking me. From there, it’s, ‘How can I make an adjustment between every single pitch?’ Not every single at-bat, but every single pitch.”

On learning a new league: “Being new to the league, I have to learn a whole new pitching staff for every team. When you’ve been in the same place and faced those same pitchers every single year, you know them by name. You might only see one or two new guys in a series. Here, almost everybody is a new guy. I have to adjust to them.

“I have high expectations for myself, but I can’t try to be more than I am. I think that’s the biggest thing. I don’t want to try to impress anybody and be someone I’m not. In order to put up the numbers I’m capable of, I have to stay true to myself. I can’t let things like hitting in a different ballpark affect me.”

On going from Coors Field to Tropicana Field: “The ball carries well here, too. If you hit it down the line, it’s going to go. If you count the numbers, homers to dead center aren’t that many. I just look to drive the ball. I don’t consider myself a home-run hitter anyway. I try to make hard contact, and if it goes it goes.

“The hitting environment [in the National League West] is actually terrible. A lot of the pitchers are really good, and it’s hard to hit at some of the places on the road. The ball doesn’t carry. It can also be cold in Colorado. Tampa is a controlled environment. You have no wind — nothing to affect you — so you kind of think you can hit anything. Then we go to some good hitter’s parks where it’s fun to hit. Being in this division is good for me. I just have to stay true to myself and play the game.”