With a clear head, Cozart’s producing

ST. LOUIS – This spring training, Reds Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin had a simple question for the team’s current shortstop Zack Cozart: “Hey, you ever thought about telling yourself to just crush the inside part of the ball? Not guide it, but wherever that ball is, just crush the inside part of it?”

For some reason, that struck a chord with Cozart, who was hopping between two minor-league games to get extra at-bats. He thought about crushing the inside of the baseball in that very next at-bat, and he crushed the ball, off the wall for a double on a change-up.

“I was like, ‘Oh,’ ” Cozart remembered before Sunday’s game with the Cardinals. “It was kind of eye-opening. The simpler you can make everything, and if it’s that one thought that keeps me clear, it’s definitely going to help.”

It has. Heading into Sunday’s series finale in St. Louis, Cozart was sixth in the National League in batting average at .368 and was in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. Not only that, he had multiple hits in four of those seven games.

“It’s great, it really is,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “We’re pulling for every guy on this club and coming off a tough season for Zack last year, it’s just been great to see him (play well).”

Cozart hit .221 with a .268 on-base percentage in 2014, but in part because of his Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop and the team’s belief that he did have offensive potential, the Reds stood by him this spring. Of course, they did hedge their bets by trading for shortstop Eugenio Suarez as a backup plan, but with just two more years of team control for Cozart, that wasn’t necessarily a move for the present as much as it is insurance for the future.

Cozart didn’t need pressure from a trade to motivate him, the feeling he had last season was more than enough. Not only was he not successful, he said there were times he was so lost in his own head, he barely saw the pitch go by him.

“There was a lot of times last year, and in the past, where I was just wondering where my hands were. It would snowball into thinking. When you’re thinking up there, you can’t really hit,” Cozart said. “I remember times last year where I almost didn’t see the pitch because I was worried about where my hands are, if I’m on time, all these things were compounding and making it tough to hit and be mentally free.”

So as soon as the season ended, he went to the video to see what was successful for him in the past and what he was doing differently. What he noticed was a change in where his hands were and how he loaded his weight. He also looked at other hitters he admired, and saw something similar. He found that change pretty early in the offseason and worked on it through the winter and into spring.

This spring, Cozart said he felt good at the plate and could tell a difference, but after a little Hall of Fame advice, it all fell into place.

“That simple thought of crushing the inside part of the ball, I don’t even know what my hands are doing,” Cozart said. “I haven’t looked at video or anything, I couldn’t tell you what my hands are doing. I’m just trying to hit the inside part of the ball.”

It wasn’t an immediate success at the start of spring, as Cozart had just one hit in his first 12 at-bats, but he felt good.

At one point in that stretch, Cozart said he remembers bench coach Jay Bell coming up to him and telling him he loved his approach at the plate. Bell added, “I promise you, your hits are going to start coming in bunches,” Cozart remembered – and in his retelling, Cozart then added “bam-bam.”

That was a two-hit game against the Cardinals on April 11. Those bam-bams have continued – two hits the next day, and three hits in each of the first two games in St. Louis, including his first home run Saturday.

“It’s been fun to realize my potential as a hitter,” Cozart said. “In my mind, I always thought I could hit. Last year was a bad year, and I’ve moved on from it and I’ve learned from it.”