When a batter faces off with a pitcher, the battle is as psychological as it is physical.
Some batters melt during the battle, but former LSU slugger Blake Dean isn’t one of them.
Dean, who was hired as an undergraduate assistant this season, is proving to be a crucial cog in the development for some of the young Tiger hitters.
Dean was hired after a season in which only two Tiger hitters had an average greater than .300 on the season.
This season, five of the regular LSU starters are hitting above .300.
During his playing career at LSU, Dean was known for his power and is No. 2 on the all-time LSU RBI list and No. 4 in home runs.
LSU freshman Alex Bregman is one of the Tigers having an impressive season at the plate.
Dean highlighted Bregman’s simple swing as the biggest factor in the young slugger’s hot start.
“His swing is so simple. He doesn’t move much,” Dean said. “He does a really good job of getting the bat directly to the ball, so it’s hard for him to get into a slump with the clean swing that he has.”
Dean’s biggest impact, though, may come in the form of lifting struggling Tigers out of their slumps.
This season, LSU senior first baseman Mason Katz has already eclipsed his entire season home run and RBI totals from the 2012 campaign. Katz also has the highest slugging percentage on the team.
Katz has been in a mini-rut lately though, going homerless since March 31 against Missouri.
“When you’re locked in, you’re really seeing the ball well. I’ve been there before,” Dean said. “And now that he’s been in a little slump, I went and talked to him yesterday and told him ‘the same guy that hit 13 home runs is the same guy that’s at the plate right now; you just need to lock in and get your confidence back.’”
Dean said the two players he has worked with the most this season are junior second baseman JaCoby Jones and junior catcher Ty Ross.
Jones, who started off the season batting below .200, has raised his batting average all the way to .260 prior to Tuesday’s game against McNeese with Dean’s help.
“Before the Kentucky series, I changed his stance up a little and tried to give him a little rhythm,” Dean said. “But really I just gave him something to believe in, and during that series, he went out there and raked.”
Jones was eight-of-13 during the series, good for a .615 batting average.
Ross is the LSU player who has struggled the most at the plate this season — with the lowest batting average on the team of .209 prior to the McNeese game — but Dean said Ross’ bad luck has more to do with his slow start than anything he’s doing at the plate.
Ross has a .219 batting average on balls in play, while the MLB average is .290, according to baseballreference.com. For comparison, senior outfielder Raph Rhymes has a BABIP of .387.
“Ross is hitting the ball so well, he just isn’t getting anything to show for it,” Dean said. “He’s hit the ball as hard as anyone on the team these past few weeks.”
Ross said Dean’s biggest asset as a coach is his experience with hitting and how he relates that experience with the players.
One thing from Dean’s career LSU coach Paul Mainieri wanted to rub off on the Tigers is his clutch hitting.
“The kids are tired of me telling them how phenomenal Blake was and what a great clutch player he was,” Mainieri said. “Everywhere we go, it seems like I have a Blake Dean story to tell them about one of the big hits he got in his career.”
The Tigers have struggled all season with runners in scoring position, and it was especially evident during last Saturday’s game against South Carolina.
Despite getting 14 hits, the Tigers were only able to drive in two runs, neither coming on hits. The leadoff man reached base in eight of the nine innings.
“Hitting is a lot easier when you’re relaxed. That’s when it’s the easiest,” Dean said. “You see guys putting good swings on it, and then when you’ve got runners in certain positions and [hitters] tense up a little bit.”
Dean said during his playing days, he would mentally prepare for each at-bat like it was the same and eliminate emotion from the equation.
“He’s kind of a cool customer. He doesn’t get too bent out of shape when things don’t go well,” Mainieri said. “Because he’s been there, he’s got a level of respect with the players, so it’s been great having him around.”
Mainieri said Dean is a legend around LSU and will be sad when his time at LSU ends after this year.
“Unfortunately at the end of the year he’s going to move on,” Mainieri said. “So I’m going to cherish every moment I have with him.”
