Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
There’s hot. There’s scorching hot. And then there’s Mark Simpson hot.
The Chicago first baseman, who’s admittedly struggled during his first months in Chicago, won the Frick League Batter of the Week Award on July 9 after going 13-20 (.650) with two homers and 7 RBIs.
Mark Simpson
He’s stayed hot since then, too, going 5-11 during the shortened All-Star Week, further raising his slash line to .267/.392/.518. That means, since his June 30 low point of .230, Simpson has added 37 points to his batting average in just two weeks.
During that stretch, he’s been collecting hits in bunches, including three games where he had 3 hits and one where he had 4.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” said Simpson with a shake of his head. “I’ve had hot streaks before, but this may top them all.”
Simpson was candid in admitting that the characteristics of the new Black Sox Park – which has been pitcher-friendly to a fault so far – had played with his head a little early in the season.
“I had trouble getting going, and I blamed it on the park and I think I managed to psych myself out a little,” he said. “But, like anything, once you get used to someplace, you find a comfort level – and I think the last couple of weeks suggest I’ve found it.”
One of the team's worries was that Simpson might be falling into bad habits to compensate for his home park’s dimensions – exaggerating his power stroke, for example, in hopes that the ball would carry further.
And while he does lead the team in homers, with 20, most of those have come on the road. In fact, most of his hits have come on the road: his home average is .234 while he hits .311 on the road.
As his star first baseman slipped deeper and deeper into a funk, manager Bret Richards rested Simpson a few games and even considered limiting his home at-bats until he could work through his issues.
In the end, though, Sox hitting coach Valentino Mercati opted to simply work with Simpson on his mechanics and help him resist the temptation to change his approach at home.
Valentino Mercati
That seems to be paying off - and then some. In fact, Simpson’s recent blistering streak reached its zenith at home during the recent series against Omaha.
“What this recent stretch shows, I think, is that when Mark just goes with his usual approach at the plate, he can succeed wherever he’s hitting,” Mercati said. “In essence, I just told him to be himself, play like he’s always played and things will take care of themselves.”
It’s hard to look at Simpson’s recent success and conclude anything else.
“All we can say is that we’re glad Mark is part of our team – he makes a difference for us every day,” Richards said. “Even when he was struggling at the plate, he was an asset.”
And now?
“He’s practically carrying the team on his back,” Richards said. “This has been one of the more impressive stretches of hitting I’ve ever seen.”
