TUCSON — Two good things happened to the Rockies’ Ian Stewart in 2009. His team made the playoffs, and he survived the season.
Make that three good things. Despite confronting struggles, the likes of which he never had known on a diamond, Stewart walked away feeling as though the experience would make him a better player this season.
“You could say I struggled last year, but it didn’t take away my confidence,” Stewart said. “It’s hard to go from being the best player on the team as you move up in the minors to just being one of the guys. But I still strive to be the best. I still think I can be a guy who helps carry the team throughout the year.
“I want that role. I relish that. I hope this year I can get back to that role.”
There no denying Stewart’s potential to carry a team. He was preordained an impact major-leaguer since his high school days in Southern California, where as a senior he was widely considered the top position player in the country.
The Rockies selected him with the 10th pick in the 2003 draft. One year later, he hit 30 home runs at Asheville of the Single-A South Atlantic League, a notorious pitcher’s league in which Todd Helton homered once in 200-plus at-bats in his first pro season.
Stewart arrived in the majors for good in 2008, hitting .259 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs in 266 at-bats. But about that 2009 season . . . It was a year in which he opened the season at second base, only to move back to his natural position, third base, after Garrett Atkins’ struggles landed him on the bench.
It’s Stewart’s job now, but with an asterisk: After hitting .228 with 138 strikeouts in 425 at-bats — 37 in 101 ABs vs. left-handers — Stewart has been challenged by his manager, Jim Tracy, to prove he deserves to be penciled into the six hole every day.
“I know what Stew’s intentions are, because we talked at length about it on the phone more than once this winter,” Tracy said. “His intentions are to be ‘The Guy’ at third base. . . . As I told him, I’m fine with that. I don’t think there’s anybody in this organization that doesn’t want to see that. But the reality is I also have a job to do, and if you want to be that guy, you’re going to have to show us you’re capable of doing that.
“It’s one thing for all the verbal jargon to take place. But then, when we get between the lines, you’ve got to follow up. You want to be that guy? Force me to make you that guy. It’s a two-way street.”
Stewart’s strikeout binges prompted his agent, Larry Reynolds, and Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd to set up a back-to-basics session with hitting coach Don Baylor in Palm Springs, Calif., Baylor’s offseason home. Stewart and Baylor spent three days together in early January, with Reynolds throwing batting practice and Baylor offering instruction.
Baylor, who resurrected Andres Galarraga’s career in 1993 by dramatically opening up his batting stance, had a very clear message: Use the entire field. No more trying to pull every pitch into the right-field seats.
“He was the first high school player they ever took with a No. 1 pick, so the scouts saw something in his ability,” Baylor said. “But you have to realize, he’s still trying to understand how to play at this level. With Stew, he has such great ability, it’s not all about pulling. It’s hitting the ball the other way, and he can do that.
“I was just trying to get him to be more consistent with a straight bat to the ball and not underneath trying to lift everything. That’s where a lot of his strikeouts come from.”
Said Stewart: “I want to stay on a more even keel throughout the year instead of being real up and down. I’d like to be maybe a little wavy instead of riding a roller coaster. When I’m going good, I’m doing it the right way. But sometimes, I tend to get pull-happy.
“I want to work on being able to stay through the ball. Sometimes you hit a few home runs and you get greedy up there. I’ve got to remember to stay within myself and work the ball to all fields. It’s nothing major. I guess the right word would be tweaking.”
If Stewart doesn’t turn a corner in 2010, it wouldn’t be because he took anything for granted. Case in point: He arrived in Tucson on Friday, almost a week before position players are scheduled to report.
“I’m really trying hard not to look at things and say, ‘I’m the starter,’ ” he said. “I want to have that feeling, that need to come in and work hard and make the team so I can have that edge.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Ian’s great adventure
Ian Stewart’s 2009 season was filled with good, bad and ugly developments. Here’s a look at each:
The good
•Lived up to his power potential with 25 home runs in 425 at-bats, including five on one road trip.
•Won the National League player of the week award in early June.
The bad
•Hit .228 after finishing at .259 in 2008.
•Had 18 hits in 101 at-bats vs. left-handers after hitting .328 (21-for-64) vs. lefties in 2008.
The ugly
•Struck out 138 times in 425 at-bats, almost one per every three ABs.
•Struck out 37 times in 101 ABs vs. left-handers.
Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
