The Cincinnati Reds are following Jonathan India's lead in 2023

GOODYEAR, Ariz. –– When Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India was a kid, his father always told him, “If you have confidence in anything, you’ll be great no matter what.” India’s dad was a professional bodybuilder, and India is a lot like him. Their confidence carries them through every challenge.

Last year, for the first time in India’s baseball career, he started to worry about that confidence. He was battling through a hamstring injury and a shin injury, which kept him from walking normally until October. India was playing on one of the worst teams in Reds history. He was getting in his own head, asking himself, “Did I not prepare well enough? Am I letting my guys down?” He admitted that he was worried about losing some of the “fire” in him.

In the middle of all that adversity, India went back to that motto about confidence. He set out to change the mentality of the Reds’ clubhouse. He realized that he needed to become the team's vocal leader.

“I want to set a culture this year that’s different from the past,” India said. “Everyone has the same mindset, no matter who it is. That’s what we need. That’s our ticket to success. Everyone having the same mindset of competing every day no matter the outcome.”

Even though he’s just entering his third season in MLB, India has already seen most of the Reds' roster turn over. This year, the Reds will have one of the youngest teams in MLB. India knows his role in ending the Reds' rebuild.

Even before pitchers and catchers reported this spring, India started the process of becoming the voice of the team. He texted position players, asking them to report early to spring training. India showed up on Feb. 1. Even though position players don’t have to arrive until Feb. 20, 13 of the 16 position position players on the 40-man roster had arrived to camp by Thursday.

India has already pulled aside shortstop prospect Matt McLain, who’s looking to accomplish what India did in 2021 and make the jump from Double-A to the Opening Day roster. India told McLain about how he “put (his) body through the ringer” in 2021, playing in as many spring training games as possible to prove himself. He told McLain to treat practices like games and show how hard he works in every drill.

India is telling the team to “play with an edge.” He’s encouraging everyone to show emotion on the field, even if outsiders view it as “too much emotion.”

“There’s already a good energy,” India said. “That’s what we need. A lot of good, gritty guys. That’s a scary sight. On paper, we don’t have anybody that stands out – ‘oh this guy gets millions of dollars.’ There’s nothing like that. When you have a group like that, trying to earn something, it’s scary. We’re going to prove a lot of people wrong this year.”

India was inspired to take this step forward because of how much he struggled last year. After his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021, India’s batting average plummeted to .249 last offseason. He pulled his hamstring in the second week of the season and rushed back as the Reds kept losing. He re-injured his hamstring a few days after he returned and was out until June.

“I tried to do too much because we were not good,” India said. “The reality was we just weren’t good. I think showing the way I am this year, being the confident guy I usually am, is going to take a lot of us the right way this year, it’s going to be a positive feeling the whole year. I want everyone to have that, not just me. Everyone has to have that chip on their shoulder this year.”

India stayed healthy until the Field of Dreams Game in August, when he was hit by a pitch in the shin. He was in danger of losing his calf muscle, and a helicopter took him to the hospital. India was back in the lineup in just five days.

India said that the coaches told him to take more days off later in the season. India didn’t want to do that, even though the Reds were far outside the playoff picture. He knew playing through his injuries could have an impact that goes beyond the 2022 season.

“He was a guy I watched closely because that's the player I want to be,” Reds rookie third baseman Spencer Steer said. “He plays the game hard. He’s passionate. The way he goes about his business, it’s something I want to emulate. Everything he does, I’m a big fan of. We’re similar in age, but he’s a guy I look up to.”

After the season ended, India knew he needed to make big changes to get his career back on the track he wanted. Before the 2022 season, India put on weight to try to “get bigger and hit some homers.” That plan backfired. “I learned the hard way that’s not how you do it,” India said.

Heading into this season, India has lost about 10 pounds. He worked with a sprint coach during the offseason and now runs 3 mph faster. He prioritized becoming more athletic, preparing himself to become a better defender and a better base runner in 2023.

“I’m back to the player I am,” India said. “A hard grinder who plays hard no matter what. My body wasn’t allowing me to do that last year. The (hamstring) injury early in the year affected me the whole year. No excuses, but if I take care of my body this season, I’ll be who I am.”

As India was training, he wanted to add to the chip on his shoulder. He saw some Reds fans on Twitter debating how good he could be in 2023. One fan was wondering if India would defend well enough to stick at second base. Another fan suggested that India’s ceiling was how he performed as a rookie.

India responded to both tweets saying, “Thank you for this.”

“It fires me up,” India said. “I want that fuel in me because I’m going to show everyone that I am the player I am. There’s a reason why I got here. I’m an infielder. I can play anywhere in the infield. And I’m going to prove it.”

“Who Jonathan is is so perfect in my opinion as far as being a baseball player and being a teammate,” Reds manager David Bell said. “We’re all human. Things affect you in different ways. You’re influenced in different ways. You have to keep coming back to the center of who you are. I think that’s what last year did for Jonathan. He’s going to get back to exactly who he is and just be the player he’s capable of being.”

In an interview on Thursday, India spoke for 13 minutes about building the right culture in the clubhouse. He explained what he believes “it takes to win.” He spoke about “preaching” messages to the other players about consistency, work ethic, confidence and intensity. He explained his leadership style. He mentioned his motivation for a Reds team with low outside expectations to prove everyone wrong.

At this point last year, India was a second-year player who was still “figuring it out.” He’s still growing as he enters Year 3, but India knows how much his role on the Reds has changed.

“Do your job and enjoy the game no matter how bad it gets or how good it gets,” India said. “ The teams that have the same mindset starting early are the teams that win. The teams that are great with chemistry, those are the teams that win.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Cincinnati Reds are following Jonathan India's lead in 2023