ANAHEIM, Calif. — Veteran outfielder Endy Chavez offers up a simple formula for performing well in a pinch:
Be prepared and know the situation.
“ I think it helps that I’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Chavez, a 36-year-old completing his 13th big-league season.
“I know not to try to do too much when I’m a pinch-hitter. It’s a whole different story from when you’re playing the complete game.”
Chavez improved to 6-for-12 this season as a pinch-hitter when he delivered a leadoff single in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Oakland. The rest of the Mariners are a combined 10-for-64.
“I watch the game and follow the situation,” Chavez said. “I’m trying to think along with Lloyd (McClendon) as a manager. I’ll be thinking, ‘At this point in the game, Lloyd might do this.’
“I don’t wait for him to tell me to get ready. By the fifth or sixth inning, I’ll start getting loose. Stretching. Hitting in the (indoor) cage. Then when he needs me, I’m ready, and I know what’s going on in the game.
“And I’ve been lucky, too.”
If so, Chavez has been lucky throughout his career: a .285 average in 156 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.
Only two American League players, prior to Monday’s game, had more pinch hits this season than Chavez: Baltimore’s Delmon Young (9-for-19) and Chicago’s Paul Konerko (8-for-26).
Chavez said his approach varies according to the situation.
“On Sunday, they put me up as the leadoff hitter,” he said. “We needed men on base. So I wanted to make the pitcher work and try to get on base for the next guy.
“Other times, it’s an RBI situation, and I’m going to be more aggressive if they throw me my pitch at the beginning of my at-bat. With two strikes, I just try to make contact, play pepper and put the ball in play.”
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