By JIM REEVES
revo@star-telegram.com
Every day, before every game, Rudy Jaramillo takes his perch behind the batting cage at The Ballpark in Arlington, stepping up on the trailer tongue to get a better view.
From there, as batter after batter steps into the cage, Jaramillo reels off potential game situations for them to react to accordingly:
"Runner at first, nobody out ..."
Whack!"Runners at second and third, one out ..."
Whack!"Runners at the corners, nobody out ..."
Whack!Depending on the situation, the hitter will try to hit behind the runner at first, or drive a fly ball to the outfield to score the runner from third, or hit to right field, hoping to advance the runners from first and second.
This is called situational hitting practice. It happens ... every ... day, from spring training until the final regular-season game, unless the Rangers are hitting inside due to weather.
If they don’t execute what the situation calls for, they do it again.
This is what Jaramillo does, along with building, developing and then attempting to maintain major league swings for what can be a revolving door of 13 to 20 or more players in a given season.
His reputation is secure throughout baseball. He is, without question, the dean of major league hitting coaches.
Michael Young calls him the best hitting coach in the game, period. Marlon Byrd, who has played for four previous hitting coaches, says Jaramillo is so much better, there’s no comparison.
The four American League MVPs Jaramillo has coached in his 15 seasons, the three home-run champions, the three RBI champions, the batting champion he tutored, all swear by him.
His teams scored more than 800 runs for 13 straight seasons — the streak ended with just 784 this year — and four times in that span they scored over 900, including the three divisional championship years in ’96, ’98 and ’99.
All of this is a prelude to the obvious: There’s absolutely no question that Jaramillo should be the Rangers’ hitting coach next year and far into the future. Are you kidding me? Shaq never had an easier slam dunk.
But Jaramillo’s two-year contract is up, and even though the Rangers have made him an offer, I fear Rudy could be their next economic casualty. My guess is that there will be teams more than willing to make him a multiyear offer to secure his services.
Losing Jaramillo, who grew up and still lives in Dallas, would be a tragic mistake. It’s not even about the swing mechanics, though obviously he knows what he’s talking about there. What’s important is that Jaramillo is able to get his message through to his hitters. They like him, respect him and listen to him.
Most of the time, that is, not all of the time.
Jaramillo tells them the same things that manager Ron Washington tells them. Work the count. Find a way to get on base. And when the situation calls for it, be a team player and do what’s necessary for the overall good of the team.
There’s still lots of work to be done in that area, and it will be a point of emphasis next season, whether it’s Jaramillo delivering the message or, heaven forbid, a new hitting coach.
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