Giants Hitting Coach Breaks Down Struggles of Ice-Cold Hitters With Rare Insight

Pat Burrell is working hard to ignite a spark on the floundering San Francisco Giants offense.

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The San Francisco Giants haven’t scored more than four runs in 13 straight games, which is the longest streak since 2018.

However, they managed to come out with a .500 record in that stretch after Friday’s 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins before dropping Saturday's contest in a low-scoring, 1-0 affair.

Shortstop Willy Adames, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and catcher Patrick Bailey have been under scrutiny for their inability to produce at the plate. 

After a 12-year MLB career, Giants’ hitting coach Pat Burrell has plenty of experience in the highs and lows of a 162-game season.

As Maria Guardado for MLB.com reports, that insight has helped Burrell evaluate what’s gone wrong with these hitters and how to get them on track before time runs out.

Willy Adames

Adames was slashing .209/.287/.332 with a 77 OPS+, five home runs, and 25 RBI entering Saturday. 

That’s nowhere close to his production last season for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he had 32 homers and 112 RBI.

And considering his franchise-record seven-year, $182 million contract that he signed this past offseason, his performance has been detrimental.

San Francisco moved him down in the order from No. 2 to alleviate pressure, but that hasn’t solved matters. 

What does Burrell believe to be Adames' issue?

it seems like it has something to do with his leg kick.

“A leg kick comes and goes with a lot of guys,” Burrell said. “It’s bigger at times. At times of comfort, it can get bigger, and the results can be there. When you’re not feeling as good and the leg kick is big, a lot of times it can mess up your timing. What we were trying to do was just simplify things a little bit to give him some more time to make better decisions.”

The strategy to change his contact point and shorten up his approach has affected his bat speed, but it’s something Burrell thinks will help Adames find more consistency and, most importantly, confidence.

Lamonte Wade Jr. 

Wade is the one under a harsher spotlight, and his recent absence in the lineup suggests he has the shortest leash to get things right. 

His .278 OBP through 48 games was a career-low, despite being known for his ability to get on base. 

Wade also has a career-low 60 OPS+ and has just one home run on the season.

Burrell didn’t have any technique tweaks or anything tangible to point to about Wade’s issues with timing, but he did highlight the fact that there could be some internal pressure being placed on himself to perform.

“I think the work isn’t translating in [game situations], which is very frustrating,” Burrell said. “We all know what’s at stake for him as a [pending] free agent. I’m sure he’s putting a little bit of undue pressure on himself, which is all natural. This is all part of it. It’s how you manage it. To his credit, he hasn’t given in one day. He has worked his [butt] off. In my opinion, from what I’ve seen over the years, when you’ve got guys that are relentless workers, that just keep fighting for it, they get results.”

Patrick Bailey

The Gold Glove winner offers incredible value on defense, but his hitting isn’t there yet.

He entered the weekend with the second-lowest .510 OPS in baseball and a team-low 46 OPS+ with just one home run. 

In Bailey’s case, a lot of that can be chalked up to inexperience.

The strength of his glove propelled him through the minors and spit him out in the Majors with few at-bats under his belt.

He’s also the club’s only switch-hitter, and he’s simply still developing as a hitter on this stage.

“Is he going to go through the same things everybody else does?” Burrell said. “Of course he is. And is it more magnified because he’s a catcher? I think so, because of the physical nature of the position. Now, he’s done a lot of really good work lately. He’s just simplified [things]. He’s just trying to have competitive at-bats. That sounds easy, but I like where he’s at.” 

Dominant play from the starting pitching staff and a bullpen boasting an MLB-best 2.43 ERA should make for a well-rounded roster—if the lineup was hitting as expected.

It’s been a team-wide slump on offense. But these three have struggled considerably worse, and it can’t be called a cold spell when issues have persisted through two months of regular season play.

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