Progress Report: Chase Headley hits stride in San Diego

Austin Kent
May 14, 2012

Chase Headley is a work in progress. The San Diego Padres are a work in progress. Most importantly though, the progress is working.

“You don’t always accomplish what you’re trying to set out to do,” he tells us, collecting his gear from a PNC Park cubbie in the heat of a grueling and eventually fruitless August, “So you just try to get a little bit better each and every day and hopefully at the end of the year, that’s going in the right direction.”

The sentiment of last summer is as true today as ever.

Life in San Diego, and specifically PETCO Park, is all about winning the little battles, doing the diligence necessary to keep forging ahead when the broader game; the war, seems unwinnable.

Even this year – let alone last year, in which San Diego finished well below .500 at 71-91 – the Padres have found themselves stranded in the NL West basement with no redemption in sight.

But the forecast isn’t all bad and that can be attributed to the growing presence, not to mention the on-field development, of the charismatic 28-year-old face of the franchise.

Headley, a self-proclaimed “Saved by the Bell” trivia whiz, isn’t about to slug his way onto the cover of MLB The Show 13 any time soon and it might still be years before the Padres make a legitimate run at National League supremacy, but that doesn’t mean their journey up the mountain hasn’t already begun.

That’s progress.

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As for the third baseman himself, whose maturation as a switch hitter with an ability to put himself on base has made him more dangerous than ever, an All-Star berth may even be in order. Not exactly a step back.

Along with a conscious effort to maximize his right-handed at-bats and improve with runners in scoring position, Headley’s discipline at the plate has helped him raise and maintain an on-base percentage north of .375.

“The biggest difference [in 2011] was that I had my right-handed swing going. The last few years it had been pretty lopsided.”

By simply getting himself on base, either with a walk or a well-placed double, Headley’s run production has blossomed. Through his first 34 games of the 2012 campaign, he has drawn nearly half the bases on balls he managed in all of 2011 (25 versus 52). As a result, he’s already scored a shade under half the amount of runs (20) than he did in 113 games last year (43).

Alas, as any role model-worthy professional athlete would, Headley’s approach to the numbers game is as responsible as it’s been effective.

“I’m not a big numbers guy, I don’t like to set statistical goals because I think they don’t always tell the whole story, [but] scoring runs and driving in runs are the two most important stats in baseball.”

Though it may not translate immediately in the win column, it’s getting harder for baseball fans scattered across the country to overlook the happy-go-lucky young veteran charged with the daunting task of creating and cashing in on scoring opportunities in endless PETCO Park.

The longer he stays in town as a member of a regime synonymous with shopping assets at the deadline, the more identifiable he becomes with the franchise.

It may be a work in progress, but given Headley’s track record of successful development, fans might find themselves keeping an eye on what might come next for the San Diego Padres.

And nobody will tell you that’s not progress.

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The Author:

Austin Kent

Austin Kent is the Editor-in-Chief of The Good Point and the Sports.ws Network.