BRADENTON -- Calvin Anderson’s goals this summer are simple:
Hit.
And have fun.
As he begins his second season with the high Single-A Bradenton Marauders, Anderson will be learning a new position, too, transitioning from first base to the outfield.
But most of his most important work will center around what is going on between his ears as much as what is going on between the white lines.
“You have to have a short-term memory. No matter what goes on in the past, you’ve got to forget about it,” Anderson said prior to the Marauders’ game with the Jupiter Hammerheads on Monday at McKechnie Field. “You’re going to be in the lineup every day, and you can’t have those feelings from the last game effect you. ... Just going out there with a clear attitude every day and just releasing the negativity that’s been going on, and just focusing on what you can do.”
He wasn’t doing that during the early part of the 2010, when Anderson batted just .239 in April. Then he got hot -- Anderson cited a 15-minute talk with then-hitting coach Dave Howard as a turning point, which came just before a stretch where he went 19 for 38 -- en route to hitting .259 with 11 home runs and 73 RBIs.
Anderson hopes to keep that mindset for an entire season. The Pittsburgh Pirates, the Marauders’ parent club, feel the same way.
“Basically all they want me to do is just hit,” he said. “They said, ‘Just hit, and it’s going to happen.’ But for that to happen, I’ve got to relax and have fun out there, because sometimes I get tied up in my head about mental issues and stuff.”
If the 6-foot-7 Anderson looks more suited for a football field, that’s only natural -- his father, Fred, played defensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he’s a baseball player, and given his size and swing, has the look and feel of a power hitter.
Sure enough, he won the home run derby during the South Atlantic League’s all-star game in 2009, and he has slugging percentage of .422 in three-plus professional seasons.
But with hits, come misses -- Anderson struck out 141 times in 521 plate appearances last year It’s a natural side effect among power hitters, and consequently, the Pirates aren’t too concerned about the high number of whiffs.
Yet Anderson’s adjustments haven’t been limited to the plate -- he’s learning to play the outfield. He served as the Marauders’ designated hitter Monday, but logged time out there during spring training.
He’ll be out there during batting practice this season, learning how to read the ball better off the bat and learning to decipher the slice of a right-handed or left-handed hitter.
“It’s not easy,” Anderson said.
That’s part of the game. And it’s a part Anderson has grown accustomed to.
