HOUSTON (AP) -Ask Lance Berkman about his sizzling start and chances are he won’t give a straight answer.
“Spinach. You ever heard of Popeye?” the Astros star says.
Well, there sure is plenty of muscle in his bat these days.
Going into this weekend, Berkman led the majors in home runs (16) and was second in batting average (.388) and RBIs (45). His stats this month were even more eye-popping: .506 with 17 extra-base hits and 20 RBIs.
“It’s like all the other guys are playing big league baseball and he’s playing T-ball,” Houston general manager Ed Wade said. “That’s how easy he’s making it look. He’s simplified it to the nth degree.”
His success is a big reason why the Astros have recovered after a slow start. They won 14 of 20, including winning a series against the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs earlier this week.
The four-time All-Star recently had his 17-game hitting streak broken, but it would’ve been hard for anyone to keep up his pace. Berkman batted .545 (36-for-66) with eight home runs, 21 RBIs and 23 runs scored in that span.
From May 3-10, Berkman didn’t make an out in consecutive at-bats.
“I’m doing the same things I’ve always done. I just think it’s a good run,” he said. “I’ve just gotten hot. Sometimes in baseball you get some breaks. I’ve hit the ball well, but I’ve also had some balls that I haven’t hit very well and they’ve fallen in and the more that stuff happens the more confidence you get and the more you start to believe.”
Berkman’s success is quite a contrast to last year, when he got off to one of the slowest starts in his career. He recovered to finish with 34 homers and 102 RBIs.
“As a hitter I hope that last year was more of an anomaly than this year,” he said. “That’s how you have to look at it. I feel like I’ve had a pretty good season. I expect to have a good season. I expect to hit the ball well and if you don’t have those expectations than you probably ought not to be playing.”
The exceptionally modest Berkman, who has spent his entire 10-year career with the Astros, certainly considers himself a good hitter. But he doesn’t think pitchers think of him in the same way as, say, Albert Pujols.
“There’s very few hitters that instill fear in pitchers and there may only be one of them around the league now,” he said referring to the St. Louis slugger. “The key is to be just bad enough to where they think: ‘I can get this guy out.’ And then you may get a pitch to hit.”
When asked the Cubs’ scouting report on Berkman before this week’s series, manager Lou Piniella simply said: “Pitch around him.”
Piniella’s team didn’t do that, but some wonder why others don’t take that approach. Berkman understands.
“It doesn’t make any sense to walk people in front of Carlos Lee,” he said. “In 2006 I was surprised because we kind of had a revolving door to hit there. We had some decent production out of the four-hole, but it’s not like we had the name that we have this year with Carlos.”
The offseason acquisition of Miguel Tejada has made the middle of Houston’s order one of the toughest in baseball.
Tejada was batting .337 with 35 RBIs and 22 extra-base hits and 40 runs scored. With 15 doubles, he was just four away from his total for last season in Baltimore.
Lee had 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
Along with his gaudy hitting statistics, Berkman has added a new wrinkle to his game this season – stealing bases. Just 48 games into the season, he’s already tied his career-high with nine. He had seven all of last season.
Improving baserunning was a focus for the Astros in spring training, but Berkman believes his success is more personal.
“It’s deceptive, because I look fat on TV,” he said with a laugh. “People don’t expect me to steal.”
At 32, Berkman leads all switch-hitters in home runs and RBIs since 2000.
“There’s not very many big-time switch-hitters that have played the game, really,” Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. “You probably have to go back to (Mickey) Mantle. For the most part you don’t see switch-hitters because it’s difficult to do. You’ve got to put double time in. You’ve got to work hard. It’s not easy to do to keep that swing up every day.”
Wade grew up watching Mantle and calls him his childhood idol, but said it’s probably not fair for him to compare the two since he was only a teenager when Mantle retired.
“That’s the kind of name you start to think about when you bring in the power and that fact that he’s picking up some stolen bases along the way,” Wade said. “Because before he hurt his knees that was part of Mickey’s game all the time.”
Excitement aside, most realize Berkman can’t continue at this rate for an entire season.
“I’d love to see Lance hit .500 for the year. He’s certainly very talented, but I think the numbers over the last 25 years of baseball tell us that he won’t,” catcher Brad Ausmus said.
Either way, the Astros will enjoy it as long as it lasts.
“It’s fun to watch,” Wade said. “What he’s done here has been special. It’s really a remarkable run.”
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