So he had the “luxury, or not so much luxury,” as he describes it, of getting a front-row seat to a lot of games. Nobody could have predicted Jose Bautista’s startling, 54-homer breakout season in 2010, when he emerged from journeyman obscurity to become the major-league home run king. Because McDonald, like many others, had marvelled at the power Bautista displayed in batting practice but couldn’t consistently translate into games. “We just worked on timing and almost like game-planning, giving him a plan for when he goes up there,” Murphy said. “It became all about confidence.”His own confidence, and the lack of confidence of the opposing pitcher, Murphy said, adding that Bautista fed off pitchers’ fears.

Source: thestar November 04, 2016 17:50 UTC