A good story on Allen Craig

[jdk82]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/m ... 63978.html
Third baseman Allen Craig arrived at Cardinals spring training in Florida looking like a new man.

After his disappointing 2006 performance with short-season State College, Cardinals brass noticed that Craig was a bit overweight and challenged him to shed a few pounds before spring training.

"The Cardinals wanted me to lose 10 to 15 pounds in the offseason," Craig said. "The first thing that I did was to cut out cheeseburgers and things like that. I also started ordering a salad every once in a while. Besides eating better, I was also on a 30-minute cardio program and lifted weights every day."

Craig, an eighth-round pick out of California last June, has hardly resembled the same player on the field at Palm Beach, either. After hitting .257/ .325/.400 with four home runs in 175 at-bats last season, he was among the Florida State League leaders in a wealth of categories early in the season. The 22-year-old led the league in all three triple crown categories at one point and was hitting .321/.357/.550. His eight home runs were tied for the league lead with Sarasota's Jay Bruce, and he ranked fourth with 26 RBIs.

"He's really been going great guns for us," Palm Beach hitting coach Steve Dillard said. "He was drafted last year and was with our club in spring training, but I didn't know anything about him. He's done a great job since the beginning of spring training."

Dillard already helped Craig make one minor adjustment in 2007 that has paid off. "He's a big kid and has great power," he said. "In a couple of early games, he was trying to pull the ball, but I got him to use the whole field and he started hitting home runs everywhere."

New And Improved

But Craig said the biggest difference in his game came from dropping a few pounds and hitting in a batting cage near his home in Temecula, Calif. His newfound dedication paid off in spring training.

"When I came back I was at 210, which was where I wanted to be," he said. "Losing that weight helped me gain some bat speed. I got a little quicker at the plate and that can be directly attributed to me losing weight."

The positive reaction that he got from his coaches sent him over the top.

"I was nervous the whole offseason because I was losing the weight but wasn't sure they would be able to tell," he said. "The first day I got to spring training, I walked by (field coordinator) Jim Riggleman, he walked past me and said that he didn't recognize me. I got a comment from every coach that was there. It was exciting to see that response to my hard work."

Yet Craig says he doesn't think his weight was the reason he struggled at State College.

"I had to get used to the wood bat again," he said. "During my senior year at Cal, I didn't swing a wood bat that often. It took me about a month to get used to it again. But I got hot toward the end of the season and started hitting well."

Now he just needs to find a defensive home. He had played 20 games at third base this season, six at first and five at DH. The nine early errors at the hot corner were a concern, but Craig was playing in a spot where had not spent much time before last year.

"He needs to work on his defense and he knows that," Dillard said. "He works hard at it. It would help him a lot if he could play third."

Hitting The Cages

Besides working on his conditioning during the winter, Craig also focused on hitting. But that presented a unique challenge for the native Californian.

"I started hitting a few times a week after Christmas," he said. "I didn't really have anyone to hit with because where I'm from there's not a ton of guys still playing. So, I had to go to the batting cages and they charged me $15 for 10 minutes. I spent around $300 hitting in those cages. It cost me a lot, but it was worth it."

Craig focused on a number of things in the cages, including driving the ball up the middle, going the other way and hitting fastballs.

"The focus for me was working on hitting the ball up the middle and the other way," he said. "I liked those cages because the fastballs they threw were pretty hard. That's one of the things I wanted to work on in the offseason was hitting a fastball.

"Last year in the New York-Penn League, they threw a lot of fastballs and I found myself not being ready for them. Pro ball is all about fastballs. Hitting in the cages was great for that. I'm way better at hitting fastballs this season and usually don't miss many down the middle."

A potential concern is the 28 strikeouts that Craig had in his first 131 at-bats, but he chalks that up to better competition.

"No, it's not a concern at all," he said. "There are a lot of good pitchers in this league, and I realize that I am going to strike out more than I did in college or last year. That's something that I have accepted and am going to try and minimize.

"I think I would like to walk a little bit more. I need to be more selective at the plate. That's something that I am going to have to get used to. Walks are something that I should be getting more of."

If he keeps this up, Hunt may also get a lot more attention.

[robbotis]

Thanks for posting.
Craig is sure tearing up this year.
Good to see his stats are on par with the almight Bruce.

[Fan_In_NY]

Great article. Two things... isnt he a little old for the FSL? The cards with their occasional college heavy drafts seem to end up with a lot of player playing "old" at each level.

Also, I find it interesting that these players dont really have anyone or anywhere to work out in the offseason. I wonder why teams dont try to organize some kind of workout area with cages, weights and nutritionists that young players could use so that they can stay motivated and workout with other players and coaches.

[New Pagodi]

Thanks. It's good that Craig is aware of the strikeout problem, but I hope he doesn't fall apart trying to fix it overnight. It would really be nice if he is able to stay at third base.

[New Pagodi]

Also, I find it interesting that these players dont really have anyone or anywhere to work out in the offseason. I wonder why teams dont try to organize some kind of workout area with cages, weights and nutritionists that young players could use so that they can stay motivated and workout with other players and coaches.

I was wondering about that too. If I ever hear about Jeff Luhnow doing a chat again, I'll try to ask him.

[GatewaySnayke]

He's pretty old for the FSL. I bet he's two years older than the average player. Will probably do nothing of note in his pro career. Just become more organizational filler.

[jdk82]

He's pretty old for the FSL. I bet he's two years older than the average player. Will probably do nothing of note in his pro career. Just become more organizational filler.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there didnt you? Most players become organizational fillers.

[GatewaySnayke]

He's pretty old for the FSL. I bet he's two years older than the average player. Will probably do nothing of note in his pro career. Just become more organizational filler.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there didnt you? Most players become organizational fillers.

LOL. Yes, I know, but this article seemed to hype him up.

[jdk82]

He's pretty old for the FSL. I bet he's two years older than the average player. Will probably do nothing of note in his pro career. Just become more organizational filler.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there didnt you? Most players become organizational fillers.

LOL. Yes, I know, but this article seemed to hype him up.

It would be nice to see him pan out which I doubt. His defense is less than desirable.

[Izzyman]

He's pretty old for the FSL. I bet he's two years older than the average player. Will probably do nothing of note in his pro career. Just become more organizational filler.

Hmmm.. Thats exactly what I think of when I see a 22 year old tearing up the FSL.

I doubt the average age is 20. Craig is probably about five months or so older than the average age.