Chris Johnson slipped from a career-best performance in 2013 to flat-out disappointment in 2014, contributing to the team’s overall offensive decline and causing Braves fans to wonder why the third baseman got a three-year contract extension.
He’s eager to get back to basics and show what he can do, and believes first-year Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer is the right guy to help him. Johnson intends to simplify things and prove 2013 was no fluke.
“I think I just tried to do too much,” said Johnson, whose batting average and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS) plummeted from a career-best .321 and .816 in 2013, to .263 and .653 last season. “I was really worried about getting my numbers, forcing my numbers back to where they were in 2013.
“So right now I’m just focused on the process, focused on getting my swing right, getting my (swing) path right, and working on this new approach that Seitz has got us working on. I’m pretty excited.”
After coming from the Diamondbacks in what was viewed as a throw-in part of a trade that was all about Martin Prado going to Arizona and Justin Upton to tbe Braves, Johnson surprised everyone in 2013. He hit .321 — second-best in the National League — and had an .816 OPS that ranked fourth among all qualifying major league third baseman.
But a year later in 2014, he hit .263 with a .292 on-base percentage. Of the 21 qualifying third basemen, Johnson ranked next-to-last in OBP and OPS (.653), ahead of only Houston’s Matt Dominguez (.256/.586). More than half of the qualifying third baseman posted an OPS of .750 or higher.
For the more sabermetrically inclined, consider this: Of the 34 players who had at least 300 plate appearances as third basemen in 2014, Johnson was 32nd in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at minus-1.3.
Even his home-run total dropped from 12 in 2013 to 10 in ’14, cruel irony considering it was trying to hit more homers that Johnson believes caused his problems. That’s also where he thinks that Seitzer, who had big success in previous stints with the Royals and last year with the Blue Jays, can help him get back on track.
Driving the ball up the middle and to the opposite (right) field were fundamental to Johnson’s success in 2013. Seitzer happens to preach that philosophy to hitters. He believes that for most hitters, that’s the key, a foundation for success.
Seitzer found two willing pupils when he came to Turner Field recently and worked for a few days with Johnson and Freddie Freeman, the Braves first baseman who always stresses hitting the ball up the middle rather than trying to pull. When Freeman is going well, which is often, he’s usually driving plenty of balls to the opposite field.
“It’s a simple approach,” Johnson said. “(Seitzer) likes to stay up the middle, stay the other way, and take what the pitcher gives you. And then when you get two strikes, he’s just kind of ‘battle your butt off.’ I’m pretty excited. It’s definitely an approach that I like to work with, and hopefully I can get back to.”
Among the Braves’ top four hitters last season, Freeman is the lone returner in 2015. Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis all were traded away during a tumultuous offseason in which the Braves dove headfirst into a plan to rebuild for 2017 and beyond while attempting to stay competitive in the interim.
“When your boys get traded, guys you’ve kind of been in the foxhole with for a couple of years and fought through some things, it’s tough,” Johnson said. “But I’ve been getting to know some of the guys who came over, being here (working out at the stadium) in the past couple of weeks, and I think we’re all pretty excited. I’ve pretty much met everybody so far. I haven’t seen guys like Jonny Gomes or (A.J.) Pierzynski yet, but those are veteran guys who will come in and play the veteran role and be leaders on the team. I’m looking forward to playing with them.”
Johnson heard his own name mentioned in trade rumors during the winter, but ultimately other teams weren’t willing to pick up the three-year, $23.5 million contract extension he got in May that runs through the 2017 season.
“I think everybody on the team, other than our shortstop (Andrelton Simmons) and first baseman, probably heard trade talks this offseason,” said Johnson, 30, who was traded twice in less than two years. “That doesn’t bother us. We’re professionals. We’ve been in the game a while, it’s not the first time and won’t be the last time we’ve heard trade talks. We’re just focused on what we need to do to get ready for the season and to have a good year.”
Johnson got off to a rough start last season and became too pull-conscious, perhaps trying to prove he warranted the extension, which was oddly timed considering he struggled in April.
He hit .236 with a .267 OBP and four RBIs in 30 games through May 5, then .310 with 23 RBIs in his next 53 games through July 2. But he cooled again just as quickly, going 3-for-28 with 12 strikeouts in his next seven games.
In the last three games before the All-Star break he had a huge series at Wrigley Field, where Johnson has hit well throughout his career. He had three homers and seven RBIs in the series. It was a lot of fun, but possibly the worst thing that could’ve happened at that point for Johnson, who became even more pull-happy trying to hit more homers.
He hit .220 with two homers and nine RBIs in his last 44 games, while grounding into seven double plays to raise his season total to 23, fourth-most in the majors.
“I think I realized I should be what I was in 2013 and not try to do anything more,” Johnson said. “I think I tried to do more last year. I was pulling off the ball, I was trying to hit more home runs. So I think I’ll just try to get back to what I was good at.”
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