Though his work as new hitting coach for the Mazatlán Guardofaros won’t start in earnest until spring training in March, Mike Ellis has already spent significant time in his laboratory – the batting cage – with a member of the Boise Spuds organization.Shortly after being hired in December, Ellis reached out to all the hitters on the roster, not just Mazatlán, the Rookie league team for the Boise Spuds, but all the players just to introduce himself and let them know he was available for anything they needed in the offseason. Steve Adams, a third baseman who appeared in 50 games for Single A Tulsa this past season, took Ellis up and sent him a text message. Adams, 20, was at home in Tacoma, Washington when he contacted Ellis, who lives in the small town of Monroe, an hour north of Tacoma. Ellis invited Adams to his home to stay for a week and when the young infielder arrived, he was met with living quarters that looked familiar to every ballplayer. Baseball equipment littered the living room and backyard, cannisters of dip and protein powder on counters, and most impressively, a full size batting cage that Ellis has constructed several years ago. Despite his nickname of “Pappy,” Ellis is just 31 years old and a few months since retiring, so his transition from player to coach was still in process when Adams knocked on his door.
“He can still hit. He looks like a ballplayer,” Adams told Treasure Valley Sports. “It’s weird to relate to a coach who’s kinda like our age and basically still a major leaguer. He was just like one of us this past season.”
Ellis had a short but impressive professional career. The lanky former first baseman was drafted with the 15th overall pick by Mexico City in 2031 and quickly made his major league debut for the Aztecs at age 19 in 2033. In his first full season in 2034, Ellis hit .330 and was quickly considered one of the best young contact hitters in the league. The following season Ellis flirted with .400 for first half the year but a spring training bout of plantar fasciitis and a nagging back injury in August and September limited Ellis to just 440 plate appearances despite a career-best .356. For his BBA career, Ellis slashed .312/.345/.468 and stole 271 bases, culminating in a 2039 Comeback Player of the Year Award with Valencia. Ellis finished out his playing days overseas in the UMEBA, hitting .328/.351/.554 across two seasons in Manama.
In a league where 40 home runs hitters are a regularity, few teams saw value in a speedy, slap-hitting first baseman, even in his early 30s. A long career of battling injuries made Ellis’ decision to hang up his cleats an easy one, knowing he’d want to stay in baseball and get into coaching within a year or two. When Boise called and offered him the job in their new Rookie league club, Ellis couldn’t say “Yes” fast enough.
“I spent five years playing in Mexico,” Ellis recalled. “So to start my coaching career in a part of the world in which I’m familiar with is a blessing.”
When asked about his approach to coaching for the first time, Ellis stated that he’s built a methodology through his own experiences. “I have three, let’s call them, commandments that I will lean on as I help these young ballplayers. First is to forget all the things that I did as a hitter because everybody is different and what worked for me might not work others. Two, always be available to your hitters and lastly, never forget how hard the game was to play.”
Ellis was quoted that his style of teaching and training is “flexible and progressive.” “I’m going to bring a little old-school and a little new-school,” he said going into detail. “I was a contact guy, so I’ll definitely be preaching good situational hitting, cutting down on strikeouts and getting on base. But everyone in the game loves power right now.”
Ellis says he believes in swing mechanics but won’t force techniques on players. His objective is to have guys ready to hit at all times and in all counts so they can capitalize on pitchers’ mistakes. “My goal first and foremost will be to win the trust of every hitter, then make suggestions and let the hitter take what he wants. It’s all about efficiency, consistency and, ultimately, that special place called confidence.”
Ellis’ backyard batting cage, which he calls “the laboratory”, helped him to hit over .300 in the BBA across ten seasons.
