TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Troy Tulowitzki is used to shining, not struggling.
So when the Colorado Rockies shortstop found himself in a horrible hitting slump last season, he didn’t know how to handle the slide.
Tulowitzki grew anxious, which turned into annoyance, followed by extreme anger. Looking back, he realizes his swing of emotions only hindered him. And for that clarity, Tulowitzki can tolerate his most trying season in baseball – a little bit at least.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” said Tulowitzki, whose lackluster season was marred by two visits to the disabled list. “It definitely humbled me and brought me back down to reality. Not that I thought the game was easy, but I was so successful my rookie year I thought things came easy.”
Things did come easily for him his rookie season. Almost too easily.
Tulowitzki hit .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBIs as he led the Rockies into the World Series in 2007. Colorado proceeded to sign the slick-fielding shortstop to a six-year deal worth $31.5 million.
layer on a rise. A big sophomore season seemed to loom ahead.
Instead, Tulowitzki struggled to recapture his stroke.
But he thinks the lessons he learned along the way will only serve him well – even little things, such as taking time to properly warm up even when he thinks he’s not playing.
Tulowitzki wasn’t scheduled to be in the lineup in a late April game at San Francisco, but was inserted when Jeff Baker broke a blood vessel in his finger in batting practice. So in he went, only to tear his left quadriceps while making an off-balance throw to first.
“You can never do enough stretching,” said Tulowitzki, who missed 46 games due to the leg injury. “You’ve got to be ready at all times.”
When he returned, his swing still wasn’t coming around. His irritation increased.
“I was getting upset each and every night when I was going 0-for-4, instead of relaxing and saying, ‘I’m going to get out of this sooner or later, just keep working,”’ he said. “My anger issues were huge for me.”
Finally, on the Fourth of July, he slammed his maple bat into the ground soon after he was removed from a game, and the shards sliced his right palm. Tulowitzki required 16 stitches, but no tendons or nerves were damaged.
“That was obviously out of frustration,” he said, shaking his head at the memory.
hopping vegetables, tripped over his dog on a walk, landing on a piece of glass – but thought he needed to be honest.
“I just said, `Hey, I messed up,”’ recalled Tulowitzki, who sat out 13 games as the hand healed. “A lot of people I don’t think would’ve faced it.”
About the time of his return, he began to loosen up at the plate. And he started hitting again.
Tulowitzki led NL shortstops with a .327 average after the All-Star break.
“I let the game come to me. I wasn’t trying to get five hits in one game,” he said. “Before, I took it home with me. It was beating me up all the time.”
These days, he doesn’t let slumps consume him. Tulowitzki started off slowly at the plate this spring training, not feeling entirely comfortable with his swing. Instead of fretting, he threw a party dubbed “Tulopalooza” at a house he was renting. All his teammates were invited.
“Another way to get the boys together,” said Tulowitzki, who rolled into spring training this year with another new ride, a turquoise ’67 Camaro. “Sometimes here at the field, we can all get uptight. If you have a little barbecue at the house, you get the other side of your teammates.”
That’s Tulowitzki acting as a leader, a role he covets.
“But I don’t declare myself the leader,” he said. “I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, I’m the leader, listen to me.’ I’m going to work hard and hopefully guys follow.”
y already are.
“He doesn’t have to try too hard to be a leader,” said Clint Barmes, who’s all but won the starting job at second base. “What he does on the field and the way he plays the game, it makes him a leader. … I’m expecting to see a big year from Tulo this season.”
Now that he knows how to better cope with slumps, so does he.
“But, hopefully, I won’t have to deal with that again,” Tulowitzki said, grinning.
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