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<\/p>\nBefore every game, when most of the veterans have long gone back to the clubhouse after batting practice, Trevor Story ducks into the indoor cages. Here, with only Boston Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse, he begins the batting routine that has powered his unlikely revival.<\/p>\n
Just as it\u2019s been since early June, Story digs in for pitch after pitch against Fatse, who does his best to mimic that night\u2019s starter. Story doesn\u2019t mind the extra work \u2014 he actually enjoys it because he\u2019s finally healthy enough to put himself through those rigors.<\/p>\n
Those efforts have been the impetus for his most successful season in a Red Sox uniform, and one of the biggest reasons that Boston is closing in on its first playoff appearance since 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cPete is throwing live at bats, he\u2019s throwing fastballs, sliders \u2014 things that come up in the game that I can really test them there,\u201d said Story, whose revamped routine has coincided with a three-month offensive surge. \u201cThe feeling translates more, doing that practice where I have to make a decision and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming. It\u2019s pretty game-like. He\u2019s throwing everything, even sweepers. His arm is about to fall off at this point now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Story\u2019s renaissance seemed unthinkable at the end of May, when he was hitting .216 with a .585 OPS. That\u2019s around the time that he suggested an idea to Fatse. During his most successful seasons in Colorado, Story and then-manager Bud Black adopted a similar routine of extra work in the cage. It came in handy when Story was struggling against lefties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really helped me just kind of get in game mode and figure out what I needed to do to have that translate,\u201d Story said of the plan with Black, a former big league pitcher. \u201cHe was nasty. Really good. Like, really trying to get me out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/p>\n
Fatse did not pitch in the big leagues. But when Story approached him with the idea, the coach said he was all-in. Though the extra work would pull him away from the larger group of hitters, Fatse said getting Story on track was a focal point. For the Red Sox, it made sense. They needed Story\u2019s right-handed bat to be a centerpiece of the lineup, especially at a time when Alex Bregman was on the injured list.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just given him a lot of confidence in situations that come up, when the at-bat changes, the count leverage changes,\u201d Fatse said.<\/p>\n
The results came quickly.<\/p>\n
In 86 games since June 1, Story has hit. 295 with an .863 OPS, 17 homers and 23 doubles. In that stretch, the Red Sox have gone 53-33.<\/p>\n
So the routine goes on. Before each game, after throwing batting practice on the field to the first wave of players, Fatse turns over group BP to another coach so that he and Story can head inside to the cages. Because Fatse isn\u2019t a big league pitcher who can throw a mid 90s fastball from the traditional mound distance to the plate, he stands closer to the plate in their one-on-one sessions to generate more speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s uncomfortable because you\u2019re in a cage and you\u2019re facing live BP from a shorter distance and you look silly sometimes,\u201d Story said. \u201cI think that in itself, just being able to embrace that part of it, it\u2019s all part of the process, and like I said, it\u2019s ugly sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ironing out the ugliness in practice helps Story when it comes time for the at-bats that matter in game.<\/p>\n
In regular on-field batting practice, coaches usually only throw easy fastballs. But in the sessions with Fatse, which last four rounds, Story hits against different pitch shapes, in different counts and different game situations. For example, Story knows certain pitchers will throw him offspeed pitches late in counts, so he\u2019ll practice that specifically as Fatse tries to get him out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a pretty good idea of how we\u2019re going to get attacked, especially this late in the year,\u201d Story said. \u201c(Fatse is) kind of going off that and we make our adjustments based on the execution of what I\u2019m looking for early (in a count) or what I\u2019m looking for late.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After playing a combined 163 games over the past three seasons, Story is on track to have his most games played since 2021. (Winslow Townson \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
When the Red Sox are facing a left-handed starter at home, Babson College head coach Matt Noone, an assistant for the Red Sox who throws lefty and helps out at Fenway Park, steps in for Fatse. Story made a point to note that each time he homered off a lefty at Fenway, Noone had thrown him BP.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 2-for-2,\u201d Story quipped.<\/p>\n
The intense one-on-one game-planning sessions have helped Story practice his plan of attack more intentionally rather than with just on-field BP with the group or hitting off a machine. Story could use Trajeckt, a pitching machine that replicates the arsenal of every pitcher in the league. But he said there\u2019s something about a human throwing the ball that helps him better visualize his in-game at-bats.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to see the ball come out of the hand rather than a 3D person throwing it,\u201d Story said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy when you have the machine set on sweeper and then you sit there and bang sweepers all day and feel amazing about it. But when you get in the game, it\u2019s not automatic. It\u2019s not a pitching machine. So it\u2019s working through that aspect of where I\u2019m very convicted in something and then executing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of that work has also presented itself in Story\u2019s numbers with runners in scoring position. Entering Wednesday, he was hitting .286 with an .821 OPS in such situations, driving in 69 runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of (the work) is based off taking pitches and things we\u2019re not looking to hit,\u201d Fatse said. \u201cHaving the conviction on the takes is just as important as the swing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Red Sox brace for the final stretch, vying to make the postseason for the first time in four years, they would not be in this position with Story. Though Story played in the postseason for the Rockies in 2017 and 2018, he\u2019s never been a part of the playoffs in Boston.<\/p>\n
Fatse has seen Story at his lowest points as he\u2019s struggled through returning to the field from injury each of the last three years. Seeing the results of their work has been gratifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe and I have a very deep level of trust,\u201d Fatse said. \u201c(This routine) also is a chance, too, to iron out the game plan. We just refined that approach before the game starts, so it\u2019s just a good way to practice with intent.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo: Stacy Revere \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before every game, when most of the veterans have long gone back to the clubhouse after batting practice,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[3959,49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-134231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}