SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers sent Joey Gallo out for a little extra early work this week.

The subject: Perspective.

On Monday, rather than do any field work, Gallo accompanied third base coach Tony Beasley to his second chemotherapy treatment in Avondale, Ariz. For four hours, Gallo sat by Beasley while doctors examined him, pumped various IV drugs in and out of his veins and while he was fitted with a pump to administer 48 hours-worth of post treatment meds.

On the surface, it is simply a nice story of a player caring for a coach who has made time for him over and over. But the truth is, the best coaches coach, regardless of surroundings or whether there is a glove on their hand or an IV in their arms. The chemo treatment was simply an opportunity for Beasley to once again coach.

While Beasley went through treatment, he and Gallo talked baseball and life. It just so happened that nurses and doctors came and went, all commenting on Beasley's upbeat approach. It just so happened that there are some 20 chairs in the main treatment room and Gallo couldn't help but notice the number of patients in far worse shape than Beasley. Gallo could have tuned out, put on the headphones that are provided as a distraction, and escaped into a movie.

Instead, he tuned in.

"I just thought it was a good time for him to see something different," Beasley said. "We talked the whole time. He spent the whole four hours involved. He asked me lots of questions about myself."

One in particular: How did Beasley manage to keep his upbeat approach at the ballpark every day. It was exactly the opportunity Beasley, general manager Jon Daniels and manager Jeff Banister hoped for when the group decided to approach Gallo.

"It opened the door to discussing the mental aspect of really everything we do in life," Beasley said Friday. "Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you deal with it. I was inclined to speak with him about my faith. I told him I have a choice: I can go to work and function or I can lay at house and sleep and mope. If I do that, I'm ill. I'm defeated. I choose not to do that. We equated that to baseball. If you allow yourself mentally to be defeated, if you focus on what's happening, if you dwell on that, it's going to get worse. You have a choice to believe in yourself."

Said Gallo: "It was eye-opening. I take so much -- we all tend to -- for granted. For Tony, he approaches every day as a success. It doesn't have to be based off the success of the game."

A year ago, the lack of success in the game after jumping from Double-A to the majors -- with unrealistic expectations from fans -- wore on Gallo.

His strikeouts became a constant source of conversation, none of it pleasant. He said he felt like he had gotten punched repeatedly in the face. He called it the "toughest year of his life."

The Rangers goal: Let him know it could be a lot tougher than an 0 for 4 night.

It also allowed Beasley to continue a conversation he started with the prospect before exhibition games began. Beasley managed Gallo's childhood friend, Bryce Harper, for parts of two years in the Washington organization.

Harper is perhaps the most confident player in the game. Beasley reminded Gallo. Also, he reminded him that Harper had his own struggles in the minors. It should be noted here that Beasley has so bonded with his players that he is often able to deliver blunt messages. He delivered one to Elvis Andrus just July, which Andrus credited with helping to turn his season around.

He took the same approach with Gallo in their conversations.

"Mentally, there was a difference," Beasley said. "I saw Harper relish the opportunity to face challenges with the game on the line. He doesn't care if he's struck out three times. He's never defeated mentally. He believes in himself. The confidence in his head and the talent in his body match. I want to see Joey get to the point where his head and body match."

"Using Bryce as an example was great for me," Gallo said. "It's somebody I can relate to."

So, apparently is Beasley.

The next day, in the first pitch of his first at-bat, the left-handed hitting Gallo hit a homer -- off a lefty, no less -- that left the Surprise city limits. He has reached base in 12 of his last 23 plate appearances. His two strikeouts Friday ended a string of 19 plate appearances without a strikeout.

"I just wanted to get him some perspective," Beasley said. "I think when things happen to him, he will remember that day at some point. He will look back and say, these were people fighting for their lives; why am I fighting myself over and 0-for-4. I think he got what I hoped he'd get."

Because coaches, especially Beasley, never stop coaching.