Harold Baines epitomizes “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Known in baseball circles as a man of few words, Baines swung a lethal bat over 22 big league seasons (1980-2001), accumulating 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBI. A member of the White Sox All-Century Team, the 49-year-old Baines is currently in his second season as Ozzie Guillen’s first base coach. Baines shared some of his thoughts on hitting when the ChiSox visited Fenway Park in late August.
David Laurila: I realize that you’re not the hitting coach here, but how would you describe your hitting philosophy?
Harold Baines: I don’t really have one. When I played, I did my homework and went from there; it depended on who we were facing that night. I used video, but not really charts.
DL: Did you go to the plate with a specific plan, or were you more of a see-it-and-hit-it guy?
HB: Probably a see-it-and-hit-it guy, but I still liked to know what the pitcher’s out pitch was and I liked to know if he threw the ball to a certain part of the plate. I gave up half of the plate. I gave him half, and I took half, up to two strikes.
DL: In which ways did you evolve as a hitter over the course of your career?
HB: I got smarter. I didn’t just go up there swinging at every pitch that I saw; I sat on certain pitches. Against a knuckleballer there’s nothing to sit on, you just go up there and try to hit the ball, but against most guys – like I said before, I’d usually give them one side of the plate. I’d give them the inside, and I took the outside, because I believe that 80 percent of pitching is middle away.
DL: Are good hitters born or are they made?
HB: I think you have to have some ability to hit the ball, but you still have to do your homework. There is the making of being a better hitter. Good hitters are blessed, but to make yourself a long-term hitter you have to do your homework.
DL: Who were the best pure hitters you played with and against?
HB: I had hitters I admired. I liked Paul Molitor. I liked Edgar Martinez, who I think was one of the better hitters I saw in my era and played against. I liked Kirby Puckett as a hitter. I liked George Brett. I saw Rod Carew later in his career, but I thought he was one of better hitters in baseball. They used the whole field. Any hitter who uses the whole field, that’s the type of hitter I like.
DL: Who were the best hitting coaches you worked with?
HB: There are two that I really enjoyed were Walt Hriniak and Charlie Lau. Charlie Lau wasn’t really my swing; he just taught me to dissect the pitcher and how he was trying to get me out.
DL: To my understanding, part of Lau’s theory was to keep your head down and on the ball.
HB: Yes, but “down” is a term I don’t like to use. I liked to keep my head on the ball, but not down. I mean, it might work for somebody, but it wouldn’t work for me because I had a tendency of pinching my head down too far, and with a helmet on you wouldn’t be able to see the ball.
DL: You’ve been quoted as saying that Bret Saberhagen was the toughest pitcher you faced. Why?
HB: He could pinpoint his pitches and he didn’t make many mistakes. Even if he threw me four fastballs away, the four fastballs would be in the right spot and I couldn’t hit them.
DL: What do you remember about hitting against Melido Perez?
HB: Melido was a teammate of mine. He had a split and an average fastball, but nothing overpowering. But I couldn’t have faced him too many times.
DL: According to retrosheet.org you were 5-for 43 against Perez.
HB: It doesn’t really matter, because I didn’t get 3,000 hits.
HB: Fastball, curveball, change. I’m guessing that my numbers were pretty bad against him, too? But he was left-handed, and I guess he was just able to get me out.
DL: You had pretty good success against Nolan Ryan. What do you remember about facing him?
HB: Well, I caught him later in his career, not that he wasn’t a good pitcher later in his career. I think I hit four or five home runs against him and they were all on fastballs. With good pitchers, you try to get to their worst pitch before they can get to their split or curveball. Ryan obviously had the fastball, but once he came up with that nasty curveball I’d try to concentrate on hitting his fastball.
DL: Did you know your numbers against a pitcher when you faced him?
HB: No, not as much as guys do now. What I knew was the teams, not the pitchers. Like, say I was facing the Toronto Blue Jays or the Milwaukee Brewers. I’d know that I played well in that stadium. There was also the pitching style, because pitchers have patterns. And if your pitching staff is pretty similar, you’ll have them all attack a particular batter the same way if it works. So I’d try to dissect that – how they were trying to get me out. I couldn’t be concerned about how they were trying to get my teammates out, because that didn’t matter. They’re throwing to me, not my teammates.
DL: A lot of teams today focus on quality at-bats. What does that term mean to you?
HB: That’s a part of it that I don’t like — hard-hit balls and all that. That’s keeping stats that I don’t believe in. But if you’re going to be in the coaching part of it, as a hitting coach, that’s the type of extra work you have to do. I don’t have to have worry about that here. I just do the outfield drills and coach first base.
DL: When you’re watching from the bench, or from the first base coaching box, do you still think like a hitter?
HB: I’m always thinking like a hitter. I’m thinking pitch by pitch, and I guess right most of the time, too. Actually, I’m thinking a lot with the catcher and how he’s calling the game. It doesn’t mean that I could go up there and hit, though. I’m smarter up here, but my body isn’t the same as it was 25 years ago. You need a combination of both.
DL: It sounds like moving your brain into the body of one of the talented young hitters on this team would create a superstar.
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