Five seasons into the minor leagues as a .237 career hitter, Regis Jesuit product Max George knew he needed a different competitive edge to move up.
So George connected with his high school coach, former Rockies player and manager Walt Weiss, to help accelerate his career. George, an infielder, hit .209 with 14 home runs for Class-A Advanced Lancaster in 2018.
“I was drafted in 2014, so I think it’s time for me to get going a little bit,” George said. “I need to develop a consistent swing path through the zone for a long time, so I worked with Walt on how to keep that more consistent throughout the season. And when things are going wrong, we worked on how to get back to me feeling comfortable.”
George, 22, worked out with Weiss a couple times a week throughout the offseason, taking advantage of Weiss’ facilities (he has a baseball field on his property and a batting cage in his basement) in addition to the knowledge of the 14-year major league veteran.
“Anytime you can work with a great baseball mind like Walt, you take advantage of that, so we worked a lot on the mental side, too,” George said.
The second baseman, who is also proficient at third and shortstop, will begin 2019 with either Lancaster or Double-A Hartford. He had one hit in five at-bats at spring training this year and took special notice of how the Rockies’ players went about their work.
“Seeing those guys’ routines has been big for me, and how they act in the dugout day-in and day-out,” George said. “Over the years I’ve gotten close with Ryan McMahon, Kyle Freeland and Garrett Hampson, and I pick their brains constantly.”
