One of the best games of Jorge Mateo’s career is what, ironically, led him to change his swing.
In August, Mateo recorded the first five-hit game of his career, but it was his final at-bat against the Tampa Bay Rays that later piqued the interest of Baltimore’s hitting coaches.
Facing a position player who was pitching in a blowout, Mateo instinctively incorporated a toe tap into his swing as infielder Yu Chang lobbed a 40.4 mph pitch into the zone. Almost like a slow-pitch softball hitter, Mateo waited as the pitch floated in the air, tapped his toe as he loaded and lined a single into left-center field.
No one knew it at the time, but that single — and the toe tap that preceded it — was the origin for a swing that has, so far this season, transformed Mateo into an impact bat in the Orioles’ lineup.
“He’s always believed that he has the skills and has the tools, and I think we all have as well,” Orioles co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said. “I think we’re starting to see some of the results from the work he’s put in. It’s been exciting to watch so far.”
Mateo, who struggled at the plate in 2022 but was still a valuable player thanks to his speed and defense, is off to a torrid start at the plate. His .351 batting average, .649 slugging percentage and 1.049 OPS all lead the Orioles. Mateo’s 1.4 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference entering Wednesday, is more than half a win better than Orioles stars Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins and ranks seventh in all of baseball, despite Mateo having about 35 fewer plate appearances than most everyday players.
Mateo was one of the most valuable players on the Orioles last season, but his poor performance at the plate often diminished his skills in the field and on the base paths. With his new swing, though, Mateo feels more confident with the bat in his hands.
“It just helps me feel a lot more calm and collected at the plate,” Mateo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I feel a lot more comfortable.”
However, the toe tap that Mateo is now using is barely similar to the one he unknowingly employed in August. In fact, it’s not exactly a toe tap at all. The traditional mechanism for hitters — like the one Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has — is a quick tap of the front toe when loading as the pitch is delivered. That’s what Mateo did against Chang, and the traditional tap is where he started this offseason as he transitioned from lifting his leg before his swing.
“He’s obviously such an amazing athlete. We wanted him to be athletic in the box, too. When you get a bunch of coaching, you can get mechanical or stiff and not be yourself,” Borgschulte said. “In Tampa … all of a sudden he does this toe tap move naturally. It was like, ‘Hey, we want you to be athletic, we want you to be natural. How about we try this? Because it’s something where, without even thinking about it, this is the move that your body wants to make.’ We kind of ran with it from there in the offseason.”
Mateo tinkered with it throughout the offseason and found a style that best suits him during spring training. Rather than a quick tap, the right-handed hitting Mateo brings his left foot back as the pitcher starts his delivery and rests it there for a brief moment as a way to reset himself before the pitch.
“I noticed in spring training that doing it a little slower gave me better results,” Mateo said.
Borgschulte said he doesn’t know of any other MLB player who has a similar toe tap to the one Mateo is using.
“I think it is unique,” he said. “I don’t know anyone off the top of my head of getting that toe tap done so soon and not using it as like one big motion.”
Mateo broke out in 2022 largely because of his speed on the bases and his range at shortstop. He stole 35 bases to lead the American League and won the Fielding Bible Award as the best defensive shortstop in baseball.
But his bat left much to be desired, as Mateo hit just .221 with a .646 OPS that was 18% worse than league average and a 27.6% strikeout rate. Through his first 67 plate appearances this year, Mateo’s OPS is 88% better than league average, and he’s striking out 40% less often than he did in 2022.
Much of his struggles last season came against breaking balls, as pitchers frequently used them to get Mateo to swing and miss. Mateo hit .218 and whiffed nearly 40% of the time against offspeed pitches last year.
Borgschulte said his difficulties against offspeed pitches in 2022 were because, in part, of Mateo’s leg kick. Throughout baseball history, many great hitters have used leg kicks — including Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout — but Mateo’s was making him “susceptible,” Borgschulte said, to well-executed offspeed pitches, especially breaking balls low and away. Last season, Mateo would at times stride too far open, colloquially known as “stepping in the bucket.”
“When he lifts his leg up a little bit higher, he naturally just wants to open up,” Borgschulte said. “With that little bit lower step forward, he’s staying on it longer a little bit more. He’s not getting off the ground as much and he’s still producing a ton of power that way.”
This season, Mateo is crushing almost every type of pitch, but especially breaking balls. He’s hitting .429 with a 1.000 slugging percentage with three of his four home runs and six of his nine extra-base hits off those offerings.
“I think staying closed just helps me see the ball much better,” Mateo said. “I think the toe tap helps me not rush to the ball. It helps me stay more calm at the plate and just being ready to attack the ball at the right time. The less movement I have, the better it helps me read pitches to be able to decide if it’s a ball or a strike.”
Overall, Mateo ranks in the top third of MLB hitters in average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, strikeout percentage, and expected batting average and slugging — all figures he ranked in the bottom 20% in last season.
“Offensively, he’s made massive strides with his approach,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He understands how big league pitchers are attacking him, how to cover up his weaknesses. … Sometimes it takes at-bats and years to really form an approach and understanding of how to be a major league hitter. You’re kind of seeing the process of that right now.”
Orioles at Tigers
Thursday, 6:40 p.m.
TV: MASN2, MLB Network
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
()
