Newman focuses on ‘flushing’ 2020 and earning starting shortstop job
BRADENTON, Fla. — Kevin Newman had at least one reason to celebrate what occurred last season, as his wife, Shayne, carried the couple’s first child and delivered a healthy baby girl named Addison in January.
Aside from that? Yeah, Newman would rather just move on.
The Pirates shortstop started 2020 with high expectations, the result of slashing .308/.353/.446 during a breakout rookie year. Newman and Bryan Reynolds became the first pair of rookie teammates to hit over .300 since GeraldFord was President.
Yet in 2021, Newman endured a frustrating season, a sophomore slump that literally ended with a thump — a baseball striking Newman in the left knee and bruising the peroneal nerve and forcing him to miss the final handful ofgames.
A year after finishing eighth in the National League batting race, Newman hit just .224, while his weighted on-base average or wOBA — a more comprehensive measurement of overall offensive performance — plungedfrom .340 to .247.
“Just kinda flushing it, honestly,” Newman said of his 2020 struggles. “As a whole, the year didn’t go the way I wanted it to, the way a lot of guys wanted it to. Just putting it behind us. Go into the offseason, work real hard. And just set our sights forward.”
It’s a smart move by Newman, a 27-year-old first-round draft pick in 2015 who’s vying to become the Pirates starting shortstop in 2021, the former Arizona Wildcats star trying to fend off challenges from good friend Cole Tucker andErik Gonzalez.
Baseball does not lack for clichés, and one of the most popular around spring training involves the importance of this past offseason. But for Newman,it’s reality.
Terrific year in 2019. Bad onein 2020. Which one is it?
At the same time, Tucker is a fellow first-round pick, and Gonzalez started the most games at shortstop of anyone on the Pirates — 36. So while it’s natural for Newman to put a bunch of pressure on himself to perform, it’s also not without merit.
Offensively, Newman felt like he “got a little long” with his swing and worked on being more direct and shorter to the ball. Whether it meant his hands lagging behind his body or getting his arms extended too much, Newman’s swing was largely inconsistent and ineffective.
To his credit, Newman didn’t strike out a ton more or chase bad pitches. Those numbers stayed fairly steady year-over-year. But he certainly didn’t find a lot of open grass, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) dropping from .333 to .250.
Although he hit 12 home runs and slugged .446 in 2019, Newman should not fashion himself as a power hitter. He has power to the gaps, sure, but his strengths are hitting for average, getting on base and contributing to the runninggame.
Oh, and he probably needs to relax a little, too. Family shouldhelp him there.
“You leave the field, and your mind focuses on your family and your newborn baby,” Newman said. “I really enjoy going home, being a dad and seeing my little girl.”
To be clear: Newman said hewasn’t sure how parenting would manifest itself, if at all, during times when he struggled. Maybe it won’t do a thing. But at least for now, the smiles have been a nice break.
Fielding-wise, Newman knows this is an area he must correct after leading the Pirateswith eight errors in 44 games. To make things easier, regardless of where he’s playing, Newman said the focus has been on first-step quickness.
In actual words, that could meana few different things.
Scouting reports, for instance. If a player tends to pull the ball between short and third, perhaps Newman can feel OK cheating a step or twoto his right.
There’s also thinking along with the pitcher and catcher — knowing what pitch is coming, the count and game situation and preparing for where the ball mightbe hit.
Something that manager Derek Shelton shared Saturday while talking about Newman was footwork. Too often Newman’s footwork was sloppy, limiting his ability to havea quick first step.
“Usually, when guys don’t catch balls, it’s because they didn’t move their feet,” Shelton said. “Usually, when they make a bad throw, it’s because they didn’t move their feet. That goes back to the first step.
“In Kevin’s situation, he made some errors last year on some routine plays where his feet weren’t in the right place. That’s something he’s working on to make sure that he’s underneath himself.”
And then there’s this: Newman also needs to make the plays he’s supposed to make, plain and simple. The Pirates know this. He knows this. Clean footwork or not, the fielding and throwing must be more consistent than they were in 2020.
“The routine play is important for him,” Shelton said. “That’s something we’ve talked about — minimizing errors and first-step efficiency. I know he did a lot of work on that this offseason, and I give him credit because we challenged him on it when he left.”
Newman did have some bright spots last season. After hitting .050 in five July games, he wound up hitting .307 in August, helped by a nine-game hitting streak when he batted .528 and raised his average from .167 to .292.
That, more than anything, was proof that the ability remains. In addition to being a new dad, Newman remains a talented player, a likable person and a possible building block.
The key point will be whether he’s indeed able to flush last season, put all of his offseason work to good use andregain his starting spot.
“That’s what you want, right?” Newman said. “You want to be a starter in the big leagues. I’m doing everything I can with my routine, my pregame prep, the work I did in the offseason to come in and fight for a starting job. That’s what it’s all about.”