Bates back in AAA waiting second shot, honors father

Ask even the most casual baseball fan what the letters “MLB” stand for and the fan will reply “Major League Baseball.”
In the case of Pawtucket Red Sox first baseman Aaron Bates, they stand for the initials of his father – Mark Lloyd Bates – who passed away in 2004.
Mark Bates was a father who had a positive effect on his son’s career — a career that this season has seen him jump three levels, from Portland to Pawtucket to Boston before he was returned to the PawSox on July 17.
Bates writes his father’s initials on the cap he wears for games in honor of the man who took the right approach from the day when Aaron first began playing organized baseball.
“He never really was an over-the-top dad as far as getting in my face was concerned,” said Aaron Bates. “Some people might have thought that because he always was there and he was my coach in Little League and Pony League. But he wasn’t. All he would care about was how I played as far as what kind of energy level I had that day, and if I was hustling.
“It wasn’t always about the hits. I think he taught me to play the game the right way. Through his work ethic, because he worked real hard for us, I think I try to transcend that into baseball – the way I work. I like to think I work as hard as he did when he worked for our family.
“Every time I put on a jersey I’m representing my family and my dad,” continued Bates.
“He was intense and very competitive but I never saw it as over the top. Neither did my brother (Justin) nor my sister (Jacquelyn). He wouldn’t yell at us in front of everybody. He wanted us to do well but he wasn’t embarrassing.”
That isn’t always the case with parents who try to live vicariously through their children – like Little League parents, for example, who often can do more harm than good.
“I was fortunate to have someone who cared and enjoyed watching his kids play,” said Bates. “He was my best friend. I was fortunate to have had a dad like that for 20 years.”
Bates was enjoying the best year of his career when he was bumped up to Pawtucket on June 8.
At the time of his promotion, he led the Eastern League in hits (70) and runs (41) and was ranked fourth in batting average (.340) – to go along with a .910 OPS.
Bates’ fast start was attributed to an adjustment he made last year in the Arizona Fall League and which he continued to work on during winter ball in Puerto Rico.
He eliminated a big leg kick and shortened his swing.
“I’d hit like that my whole life and had success with it,” said Bates. “The Red Sox make adjustments with their players but they don’t change everybody. I talked with our hitting coordinator, Victor Rodriguez, and said ‘I think I want to get rid of my leg kick and be more consistent – and be shorter and not miss as many pitches.’
“It was a process where I struggled a little while doing it because it’s a time mechanism in that you hit a certain way your whole life. I said I knew I was going to have to take one step backwards and take two steps forward. If was frustrating at first because I wasn’t having success in Arizona.”
But the adjustments did start to kick in during winter ball and carried over into spring training.
“It allowed me to come to spring training with a definite way to be consistent,” said Bates. “I think it’s still a work in progress. You’re always trying to get better but it allows you to come to the park every day with a consistent plan – a routine that allows you to get ready to play every day.”
For the most part Bates has played every day with the PawSox but, ironically, at the time of his promotion to Boston he was mired in the worst slump of his career – having gone 0 for his last 28 at-bats.
“I was swinging the bat well in Portland and then I got (to Pawtucket) and for the first week and a half I was swinging well,” related Bates. “I didn’t realize at the time I wasn’t getting many hits.
“When I was in Boston a writer asked me ‘When’s the last time a guy got promoted when he was in a 0-for-28 slump?’ I was like ‘I don’t know. You guys tell me.’ That’s why they put defenders out there in the field. When you’re going well, the ball finds holes. When you’re going badly, everybody catches everything. You hit the ball hard and a guy makes a diving play.
“It’s a part of baseball but I’ve never been in a slump that long,” continued Bates. “The biggest thing is not to change, keep a good attitude, support your teammates and try to find a way to win some games.”
Even though Bates only played five games with Boston before he returned to Pawtucket, he still hit .364 (5-for-11) with two doubles and two RBI. And due in large part to that 0-for-28 slump, his average only was .194 replete with two homers and 10 RBI in his first 39 games with Pawtucket.
Those stats notwithstanding, PawSox manager Ron Johnson still finds much to like about Bates.
“What I’m really impressed with is he consistently controls his at-bats,” said. “Whether he makes great contact or not, most at-bats he has control of what he’s doing even if he strikes out.
“That’s what I look at.”
What Johnson doesn’t look at in assessing young players like Bates is their number of at-bats – which, in the case of this first baseman, was just 139 through his first 39 games.
“I don’t know if you can break it down into at-bats because this is about development … moving from level to level,” said Johnson. “Personally, I look at it a little differently. When a guy dominates a level and gets promoted – and especially with a situation like Aaron has been in – to me you take the numbers out.
“It’s more about watching the quality of the at-bat.”
Johnson also has watched Bates display something more intangible since his return from Boston.
“It’s amazing when you look at their posture, body language, exuberance and confidence that comes out in these guys when they come back after a stint in the big leagues,” said Johnson. “He took advantage of a really good opportunity because he had first-hand experience of what it’s going to take to perform up there.
“I think it worked out really well for him to have an opportunity to play in the big leagues.”
In Bates’ opinion, just having the opportunity to talk baseball with the likes of the high-end players on Boston’s roster was like hitting the lottery.
“These guys are such great hitters and they think they have an idea of what they’re trying to do,” he said. “I was trying to learn from them. They were so great that they made it real easy to blend in and feel comfortable.
“I tried to pick everybody’s brain and was like a sponge in that I tried to learn as much as I could in my seven days.”
Which would have made his father proud.