Rangers notes: Choo’s confidence needs a slow trickle before the flood

Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was back in the lineup Saturday, a day after sitting on the bench in the second-half opener.

Choo batted eighth, deeper in the order than he’d prefer, but he was glad to be back in the lineup, as he expected.

“Better than not playing, right?” Choo said with a smile before Saturday’s game with the Houston Astros. “Wherever I’m hitting, I want to play every day.”

Choo has batted in six spots in the order this season, including his second time at No. 8 on Saturday.

Choo’s lack of consistency at the plate, he said, could be partially rooted in his evolving place in the lineup. He has split time batting leadoff or No. 2 the most, a combined 58 games. He’s batted fifth 10 times, sixth four times, and seventh five times.

Whether Choo’s struggles at the plate are a product of his place in the lineup or the other way around, he knows confidence in his bat is integral to turning around his .221 batting average. Manager Jeff Banister agreed. He’s hoping Choo, as he did after sitting a few games in early May, can snap out of it with a strong second half.

“The confidence in his own game is what I think he needs,” Banister said. “Choo still possesses all the qualities of a terrific player at the major league level.”

When he was hitting .295 with 18 RBI and six homers in May, Choo had productive at-bats even when it resulted in only a sacrifice fly or moving a runner over. It won’t take much, Banister said, for Choo to regain his confidence.

He went 2 for 2 Saturday with a single in his first at-bat, a softly hit blooper to center. It was his first hit since July 8. He added a bunt single in the third and had a sacrifice fly to right in the sixth to drive in a run. He also stole a base before Leonys Martin was inserted in the outfield in the eighth.

“We just need for him to get on that type of roll,” Banister said of Choo. “Even if it’s a broken-bat hit, those positive feelings you have that help an athlete gain some confidence, that little trickle, then becomes a drip and before too long, when things are going right, it’s a full-fledged flood. I believe one [hit] would open some floodgates for him.”

Choo called his first half the worst of his career, even worse, he said, than his 2014 season with the Rangers in which he was slowed by multiple nagging injuries.

“I want to be the normal Shin-Soo Choo, but I’m trying real bad,” said Choo, who acknowledges his seven-year contract he signed with the Rangers before the 2014 season may have weighed on his mind a little last season. “But not this year.”

He’s sought advice from veteran Adrian Beltre, who had a similar struggle after signing with the Seattle Mariners.

“He’s his own worst critic right now,” Banister said. “As a true competitor he knows exactly what type of hitter he can be and what he should be.”

Choo remains confident he can find his swing.

“I believe Shin-Soo Choo is a pretty consistent player,” Choo said. “Confidence in baseball comes back pretty quick. One good at-bat.”

Key stats

7 Different jersey tops for the Rangers this year after wearing their powder blue road uniform Saturday during an ’80s night throwback game with the Astros.

19 Bunt hits for the Rangers, including Rougned Odor’s in the first inning Saturday, tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the major league lead.

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Rangers notes: Choo’s confidence needs a slow trickle before the flood."