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02/25/07 2:46 PM ET
Practice makes perfect for Magadan
Hitting coach believes teaching, learning an ongoing process
By Mike Petraglia / Special to MLB.com
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- During a 16-year Major League career, Dave Magadan earned a reputation as a quiet man known for his smooth, relaxed swing and effortless approach at the plate.
But when it comes to helping a talented group of Red Sox batters be the best they can be, new hitting coach Dave Magadan is all business.
That explains why he plans on encouraging all of his hitters to take the cue from Pujols as they prepare for each at-bat this season.
"It's all about coming in and approaching this like you've got some work to do and taking it serious," Magadan said. "Certainly, one of my pet peeves is guys who come into the cage or take BP and it's a big joke, and they're joking around and they're not concentrating.
"The guys who take it seriously and who know they've got something to work on every day and [know] you can get better every day -- the guys who do that are the guys who stick around a long time and have a lot of success," he said.
Magadan had his share of success, compiling a career .288 average and an impressive .390 on-base percentage.
There were four red 8-inch-by-11-inch cards posted up in the Red Sox's Minor League clubhouse, designed to catch the eye of every batter, especially Minor Leaguers who walk out onto the field each day.
On the cards were reminders of the hitting philosophies of the organization -- with the principles of knowing your strike zone and not being afraid to hit with two strikes as the foundation. Magadan was certainly paying attention to them when he arrived in Fort Myers this spring.
"Those Minor League cards were up there before I even got here, and I read them and I was like, 'Yeah, that's something I believe in,'" he said.
Hired in October to replace Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson, Magadan inherits one of the most talented offenses in the game.
"When I was let go from San Diego in June, I gave the Red Sox a call -- Theo Epstein was obviously in San Diego before he came here," Magadan said. "The Red Sox happened to be going to Tampa, which is where my home is, to play the Devil Rays. I met with Theo at that point and started a dialogue with him."
Magadan began to get a feel for the organization early on in his time with the Red Sox.
"I came on board at first in an undefined role," he said. "I went up to Boston and was in on some meetings, talking about players and stuff like that -- Minor League players -- and I was on board in that respect. Then it kind of evolved after the letting go of Papa Jack, and they interviewed me for the hitting coach job, and here I am."
Magadan has already watched hours of tape on each hitter while charting their tendencies.
"He's very organized," manager Terry Francona said. "He watched everybody's mechanics before he got here so there's a lot of familiarity, or as much as there could be, which I appreciated. He'll do fine."
As was Magadan's approach during his career with the Mets, Marlins, Mariners, Astros, Cubs, A's and Padres, patience will likely be a recurring theme.
"Obviously, I'm a hitting coach who believes in patience at the plate and taking your walks when they're there to be taken, and I think that fits really well with the philosophy of the organization," Magadan said.
"Instead of taking what I feel and jam it into these guys who have been established for a long period of time, I think my job is to realize what these guys do well when they're going good and being able to approach them when they're getting outside of that and going through periods of not hitting the ball hard. Really, that's most of your job at the big-league level."
A legendary hitter at the University of Alabama, where he led his team to the NCAA Championship game in 1983 before falling to Roger Clemens and Texas, Magadan is excited to be working with a lineup that includes David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew.
"It's very exciting," Magadan said. "Obviously, there are great expectations on this team, especially offensively. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys on an everyday basis. I've looked at them from afar for a long period of time and admired the work that they do. It's going to be nice to be in the trenches there with them and see what they do."
Magadan has spent most of his time in Fort Myers at the batting cages, watching countless swings and getting to know his hitters.
"Most of the time in Spring Training, 90 percent of the time, is for the pitchers," Magadan said. "With the hitters, most of these guys have been hitting in the offseason. Now, it's just fine-tuning, getting used to the live pitching. Really, after a week or so of facing the live pitchers, they're good to go for the games.
"I know as a player, it seemed I was ready to go two weeks into Spring Training, or at least two weeks into when the games started. The last two weeks or so was about surviving and staying away from injuries and fine-tuning things here and there."
As is the case with nearly every player, Magadan has been influenced by others in the game.
"When I was with the Mets, Mike Cubbage was a guy who had some influence on me," he said. "Then I went on to the Marlins and Doug Rader was our hitting coach one year there, and he kind of attacked the mental aspect of it and how to grind out at-bats and not give away at-bats."
Magadan believes both teaching and learning about hitting is an ongoing process.
"I think the good ones are the ones who feel that you never stop learning," he said. "No matter how old you are, you can still get better."
And that's true whether you're Ortiz, Ramirez or their hitting coach.
Mike Petraglia is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
