by Ed Gray
Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
A new brand of patience at the plate yet again yielded exciting results for Shea Hillenbrand, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games in the Red Sox' 4-3 victory over the Yankees yesterday at Fenway Park.
The second-year third baseman, who went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .405, upped his team-leading RBI total to 14 with a bases-loaded walk in the first inning and a double to left field in the fifth.
Obviously, hard work does pay off.
``I think I work harder on my defense,'' Hillenbrand said when questioned about how intensely he has worked to improve his hitting. ``I have to. Last year was my first year playing third base in three years.''
Hillenbrand, who made the jump from Double A to the Red Sox last year to take over at third for the injured John Valentin, made a nifty stop on a hard-hit grounder by Bernie Williams in the sixth inning. However, the 26-year-old's bat is what made the difference in the Sox' third victory during their four-game series with the Yankees.
``It's huge. It's huge when you do something like that to a team like that and stay strong and play solid baseball throughout the whole series,'' said Hillenbrand, refusing to downplay the importance of the early season series for the Sox, who edged ahead of the Yankees by a half-game to claim first place in the AL East.
For Hillenbrand, the first Sox player to get a hit in the team's first 11 games of the season since Tim Naehring and Lee Tinsley started strongly in 1995, his production at the plate during the series was especially gratifying.
``It's huge for myself and it's huge in the way that it gives me confidence, and that's what a player needs to be consistent,'' said the Mesa, Ariz., native, who also singled in the third inning. ``I'm pleased with myself to keep going through the Yankees series, because their rotation, their pitching staff, I think is the best in baseball. It's nice for myself to be able to continue with my plan. Sometimes when you get pitchers out there throwing good, you get out of your plan. You almost give in and not stick to your strengths.''
Hillenbrand, who has studied video of his 2001 at-bats, came to a profound conclusion: There is only one Nomar Garciaparra, the Sox star shortstop who's never shy about swinging at the first pitch.
``I was starting to be a hitter like Nomar, just going up there and just hitting. He's one of the only few who can do that,'' said Hillenbrand, whose run-producing walk was his third of the season, a plateau he hadn't reached last year until his 60th game.
Hillenbrand, who leads the Sox in hits (17), home runs (four), slugging percentage (.738), total bases (31), as well as RBI, made mechanical adjustments in order to see the ball better.
``I'm establishing an approach at the plate. I'm establishing a plan, and I didn't have that last year,'' he said. ``I was just relying on what got me to the big leagues, and there's a point in time when you have to give in to that and make adjustments, and make adjustments on a daily basis.''