As St. Louis hitting coach Jeff Albert remains under fire, assistant receives high marks
Turner Ward doesn’t generally think of himself as a hitting coach.
“I like to call myself a watchman,” the 57-year-old assistant hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals shared from the team’s dugout last weekend. “Or more of, you know, the options and suggestions coach, because there’s not one way to do it.”
The Cardinals way to do it — it, in this case, being hitting — has been under strict scrutiny over the past several years. Hitting coach Jeff Albert has been heavily criticized by the public but supported at every turn by the organization.
As the team’s offense languished in the middle of last summer, the front office went to work tamping down suggestions Albert would lose his job. Even with a shock managerial firing, team officials made it clear Albert would return, praising the strides made in the minor leagues under a program largely of his design.
Where they felt they could improve, they conceded, was in communication. Albert has a deep understanding of the most modern tools and the ways they can be applied to enhance an offensive attack, but even his staunchest defenders grudgingly admit there have been challenges in transmitting that material to players throughout the course of the season.
Looking for a coach with Major League playing experience became a priority. Cardinals alum Ryan Ludwick made a cameo appearance in uniform in late summer after being formally re-hired. This winter, former assistant hitting coach Jobel Jimenez was offered a demotion from the Major League staff and a nebulous instructor position if he chose to return to the organization. He did not.
Instead, the club turned to Ward, who played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues. He also has six years of experience as the head hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cincinnati Reds. In the Arizona organization, he connected with Paul Goldschmidt, who Ward managed in the minors and coached in the majors.
The relationship between the two runs so deep that Goldschmidt gave Ward the plaque he received for winning the 2015 NL Silver Slugger award at first base.
“I think just having a guy that has been in your shoes before provides some value,” Goldschmidt said. “That’s not the Holy Grail; that’s not the answer. That’s why we have a balanced staff and a balanced group of players. Sometimes you need that, sometimes you need other things, sometimes nothing.”
“Turner has been great,” third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “He’s been there. He’s played the game before. It’s always nice to have a guy like that. He’s really good about making you feel good about who you are as a hitter instead of what makes that pitcher good.”
Challenges faced, hitting concepts
Asked about the challenges in communicating data to players, Ward said, “It’s the difference between knowing the feel and knowing the real, right? A hitter saying, man, I’m not feeling the leg, I’m not feeling this, I’m feeling my hands. Well, there’s mechanics in that.”
Ward explained hitting concepts, from topic to topic, offering examples. Harrison Bader, last year, felt a certain way. Tyler O’Neill, this year, feels a different way. Every hitter has to focus through the data intake and the measurements that provide infinite outputs, each with the ability to become its own obsession.
When Paul DeJong’s struggles at the plate saw him demoted to Triple-A Memphis, the club spoke about the number of voices in his head and the need to simplify. When every individual swing in practice can be broken down frame by frame, it’s not difficult to see where obsession has the potential to slip into paralysis.
“We have the high speed cameras in there,” Ward said. “We have different tools to kind of measure all of that. But, you know, we could literally throw all that away, and if a guy doesn’t feel good, you can’t get to that place. It’s just, like, options and suggestions from that point.”
Ward taking charge
Both Arenado and Goldschmidt took care to praise Albert for his input and hard work, and there’s no indication of a change in the organizational chart being considered, even as the Cardinals struggle to keep their heads above water at the plate for yet another year. Instead, their patience is paid by what they believe to be improvements in their approach. In-game adjustments, for instance, have been a point of emphasis, and Ward has taken charge.
“I think this year more than ever, we’re correcting things kind of quickly,” Arenado explained. “The in-game adjustment’s been really good also. Just preaching and telling you like, hey, this guy’s doing this, this is what we see. Or hey, I see you jumping a little bit. Slow down, maybe take a pitch.
“It isn’t video. I think it’s more of them watching, paying attention, and then it’s just great communication.”
“In-game stuff, you don’t want to get real mechanical at all,” Ward agreed. “It’s more about tempo. Hey man, take a deep breath. Hey, what are you looking for to hit? Are you getting away from your approach? You know, this guy is doing this, what are you going to do?”
‘We’re humans out there’
There is no array of five-figure cameras that can divorce the challenge from hitting a round ball with a round bat. An engaged staff working in perfect harmony will provide support and assistance, but they cannot swing for the hitters. And the hitters, to their credit, understand the (lack of) score.
“If it was just, hey, this is what you need, just press this button, get your timing better, see the ball stay on it, XYZ here’s what the video shows, here’s what the data shows ... I mean, you know, we’re humans out there,” Goldschmidt mused.
“I think that’s the hard thing about this game. It’s the beautiful thing about it. It’s not played on paper, and everyone goes out there and tries to compete and do the best job they can.”
