A tiny tweak might have unlocked one of the most powerful bats in the TinCaps’ lineup. It was so tiny, in fact, the hitter in question did not even notice he had made the change at first.
With Fort Wayne trailing Midwest League-leading Wisconsin by a run in the ninth inning Friday, TinCaps slugger Griffin Doersching hit with a runner on third. When he got to a two-strike count, Doersching subtly, unconsciously widened his stance. The next pitch was a change-up down in the zone that the big slugger stayed through and ripped to left for a tying double in a game the TinCaps went on to win in extra innings.
“He just basically simplified a little bit; … just with the intent of, ‘I really want to come through,’ ” TinCaps hitting coach Jed Morris said. “I mentioned it to him the next day; … he didn’t realize he’d spread out very much, so he just stayed in that two-strike mode, and he’s such a big, strong guy all he really has to do is get the barrel on it and he’s stayed in that mode. When it hits the barrel it’s been going.”
Focusing on barreling the ball in that way led to an extremely fruitful weekend for the 6-foot-4, 251-pound Doersching. The former Northern Kentucky and Oklahoma State star, who clubbed 20 long balls with the Norse in 2021 and 15 with the Cowboys in 2022, homered to left-center Saturday for his first round-tripper since May 16. Then on Sunday turned in the best game of his professional career, going 4 for 4, his first four-hit game as a pro, and cranking two home runs while driving three in a 5-4 Fort Wayne victory.
Entering a six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs at Parkview Field that begins tonight, Doersching is tied for 10th in the MWL in home runs with seven and is feeling comfortable with an all-fields approach at the plate.
“Over the last couple of weeks, me and (Morris) have been trying to work with more of a mindset toward using the right-center field, using the big part of the field,” said Doersching, 25. “That doesn’t mean I’m never going to pull the ball, … but just setting up my timing in order to use the big part of the field on the pitches I should has really led to me being able to find more success with pitches all throughout the zone.”
The timing of Doersching’s power display over the weekend was excellent, as well. A native of Milwaukee, the second-year TinCap went deep over the weekend with a group of supporters in attendance that included his grandmother, his girlfriend’s parents and family friends in addition to his immediate family. His two home runs Sunday came on his parents’ wedding anniversary.
“It was a good day to go 4 for 4,” he said, laughing. “(Having them there) means the world to me.”
Coming out of the explosive weekend, Doersching seems to be on the verge of recapturing the form that helped him slug four home runs, drive in 12 and post a .906 OPS in 14 games with Fort Wayne at the end of last season. He came into Saturday hitting .183.
He enters the series against the Chiefs believing he is mentally where he wants to be. He acknowledges there will still be times where he goes through mini slumps with a handful of strikeouts in quick succession – such stretches are nearly unavoidable over a long baseball season, especially for power hitters – but he believes he will be able to find his way back with his current approach.
“As humbly as I can say it, I think I’m an exceptional hitter,” said Doersching, who also emphasized he is trying to bring his defense at first base to the level of his powerful hitting. “I think anyone who plays this sport who hits has to have that kind of mentality to even succeed in this game.
“It’s an extremely difficult game. You must stay mentally solid throughout it in order to succeed. I’ve had times where my mentality wavers and it usually leads to me going 0 for 20. That’s just part of the game, but when you have some ability to maintain some confidence and a mindset, it usually gets easier.”
Morris’ job in part, therefore, is to help Doersching keep in mind he does not need to launch every ball 500 feet – 400 is plenty.
“For Griffin, I know he’s determined to be great,” the hitting coach said. “That energy can kind of take him away from being simple because he wants to be so great and he’s such a big figure in our lineup, so he wants to do a lot. It’s just keeping him grounded like he was in Wisconsin and remembering it doesn’t take every bit of everything.”
