SURPRISE, Ariz. — The ball fled Todd Helton’s bat, screaming toward the left-field gap before losing its voice and disappearing into the outfielder’s glove. A vintage at-bat became an out, leaving Helton looking for answers.
He turned to teammate Matt Holliday, the National League batting champion.
“I asked him what he thought about my swing. He said, ‘You’re losing your front hip too quick.’ He was right,” Helton said Friday. “I am not going to let my ego get in the way if somebody can help me.”
This scene has played out countless times at Rockies’ camp in the last three weeks. In the interest of accuracy, the team’s batting cage should have a chalkboard instead of a screen, given the amount of peer tutoring that occurs.
“I think it’s very helpful. I am laid back, at times maybe too laid back. These guys work so hard and know each other so well,” hitting instructor Alan Cockrell said. “The interaction is great. They are not going to say something harmful. I am all for it.”
Holliday is the most active teacher, freely offering advice to anyone from prospect Dexter Fowler to free-agent newcomer Marcus Giles. Listen to him talk about at-bats and it’s hard to believe Holliday struggled in the minor leagues. Not since Dante Bichette have the Rockies possessed a player so knowledgeable about hitting mechanics.
“It’s not like you are trying to change a guy’s stance or how he holds his hands,” said Holliday, whose dad is an assistant college coach and his brother a college hitting instructor. “But the swing path is nonnegotiable. If I see something, I’ll make a suggestion.”
As Cockrell points out, common principles connect all hitters. They are trying to be on time with the pitch, stay square and stay behind the ball. The difference with the Rockies is that they share information with teammates, identifying hiccups when those staples are absent. Sometimes it even happens during games. It’s easy, outfielder Brad Hawpe said, because many of the core Rockies have played as much as seven seasons together dating to their days in the farm system.
“I have watched Holliday for years. I have seen (Garrett) Atkins take thousands of swings,” Hawpe said. “If Matt comes up and says I am not getting into a good load position, I am going to listen because he has seen me when I am at my best.”
Exchanging trade secrets is not as common as you might think. One of the sharpest complaints against Barry Bonds is that he refused, until his last few seasons, to convey his hitting smarts to teammates. With players bouncing from team to team, there’s reluctance to give a tip to a guy who might be competing for your job next spring.
“I have good friends in baseball that if they knew I was tipping my pitches they wouldn’t tell me,” said reliever Matt Herges, the team’s oldest and most-traveled player. “But here you have guys who are going to be lifelong friends. They are in this together. They want each other to get better, and you almost never see that at the big-league level.”
If not for Holliday’s tips, Troy Tulowitzki wonders how he would have fared last season. It was Holliday and Cockrell who suggested that the shortstop widen his stance after his April slump. The result was more power and better pitch recognition.
“It’s not like they are putting you down, they just want you to get into the best possible position to succeed,” Tulowitzki said. “Guys listen to Matt, Atkins, Todd, guys who have been doing it for a long time. Just look at what they have accomplished. Why wouldn’t you listen?”
That so many players have similar swings, Helton said, creates a better understanding and dialogue among teammates. Atkins, Tulowitzki and Ryan Spilborghs can be mirror images at the plate at times. And constructive criticism goes a little deeper with Spilborghs, who is an endless source of needling for teammates.
“Garrett and Matt will tell me my swing looks awful. And I love it. They don’t mean it in a bad way,” Spilborghs said. “It’s pretty special when you don’t have to always have a coach around to correct something. We have guys who pay close attention and watch each other in batting practice. That’s what teammates should do.”
In Helton’s first game since talking to Holliday, he smashed hits to left and center field against the Kansas City Royals. Helton prides himself on figuring out his own mistakes, but having hitting tutors doesn’t hurt.
“It goes back to the fact that these are good guys. When you have players with egos bigger than the team, they aren’t going to listen to you. It’s not like that here,” Helton said. “Guys listen and definitely help each other.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
