BSN Exclusive: McMahon shares thoughts on baseball's good and bad luck

Before Statcast was introduced to baseball audiences in 2015, the box score was the only tool for fans to indicate whether or not an individual player had a good or bad game. 

Created by Henry Chadwick in 1859 and adapted from a cricket scorecard, the box score’s intention is to encapsulate essential elements of a game for each player as well as the two teams. As simple as that may seem, the sport of baseball is far more complex than that. No one knows this better than Ryan McMahon after his weekend against Cincinnati.

On Friday, McMahon went 0-for-4 and appeared to be shut down by the opposing squad, especially as he had hit into a double play and struck out in another at bat. But a review of certain Statcast information illuminates a player on the wrong side of luck.

In the 24-year-old’s first at bat, he tagged a changeup 108.7 mph for a lineout to right field, the hardest hit ball of the game. Another opportunity produced an error by the second baseman, a batted ball clocked at 102.9 mph, good for the sixth hardest hit ball.

The next night, McMahon went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Surely, that’s a good game, right? To hear him tell it, it’s not as easy as that.

“I hit some good ones (Friday),” McMahon said. “I had a lot of people in here that had my back. They said, ‘Hey, man. We see you swinging good. Don’t worry. You keep doing it.’ Then the next night, I didn’t swing as good and got two knocks. The baseball gods evened it out for me. Still felt good even though I wasn’t driving the ball that day, but that’s baseball, right?”

Saturday’s two-hit game for McMahon produced a single that traveled only 79.8 mph, the 51st hardest hit ball of the game, and the second single was even softer at 62.6 mph, the 69th hardest hit ball. Though he did wallop one at 101.1 mph, true to fashion, it started a 3-6-1 inning-ending double play. 

It all came together in the final game of the series as McMahon had one of his finest days as a big leaguer. With a career-high tying three hits that included three runs batted in and a home run short of a cycle, the Yorba Linda born player feels like he’s near to reaching a level of consistency with his performances.

“Close,” he admitted. “It’s baseball. You can feel great one day and terrible the next, so I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and focus on one task at hand.”

Finally, the box score and Statcast would agree with one another on Sunday. His 109.0 mph double in the first inning was the second hardest hit ball of the game, while the 105.8 mph triple to right field was the fifth hardest of the game.

After the 10-9 victory over the Reds, he opened up about completely settling into his first full season as an every day big leaguer. “Yes and no,” McMahon conceded. “I think there’s a lot more in the tank (for me). Personally, I have high standards for myself. I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface on it yet. Consistency, obviously, is a big key with all that. So I’m just looking to get more consistent.”

That regular playing time for Colorado’s primary second baseman has made life much less challenging, especially as he’s been a key cog in the Rockies run production machine. “I think it’s just easier to take that confidence in there. You don’t have to wait a couple days before you get back in there. It’s like, you’re going to get back in there the next day so you keep that confidence and then hopefully have a good game the next day and keep rolling and build on it,” McMahon confided.

Even after producing 0.5 WAR during a first half that forced him to play out of position at first base once an injury sidelined Daniel Murphy and split playing time with top prospect Brendan Rodgers at second base, the Mater Dei High School (CA) grad has an interesting response about his positive takeaways about this season.

“I’m pretty tough on myself,” McMahon admitted. “I think there’s a lot of areas that could use some improvement. More about how I go about my daily business and how I get my swing off are the two key ones.” He continued on the topic by saying, “I think I need to stop getting so big. I have a lot of power. I have a loopy swing already. When I get big, it gets loopier. The shorter that I stay, my natural loop is going to put the ball in the air. I just need to relax and get my best swing off.”

McMahon even dispensed with details about letting up on himself as a tough critic. “I think I’m getting better at that.” He added, “This game, for all of us, when we are coming up, it’s an easier game. We’re used to always having success. So you have to be able to take those small victories. Buddy (Black) talks about that all the time. Taking the small victories and kind of moving on with those.”

As for hitting the reset button for his first real All-Star Break as a major league regular, it came at just the right time for young second baseman. “I loved the break,” McMahon said with his trademark, leading man smile. “I think whoever sets up the schedule knows exactly when everybody desperately needs it. It was a good break. Obviously, you come back from the break and you’re like, ‘I still remember how to play baseball.’ I get in there and put a barrel on the first ball and it definitely gave me some confidence.”

Though David Dahl ended up being the Rockies regular to make the seismic jump and earn a spot on the NL All-Star Team, McMahon will certainly continue to grind for such notoriety as the daily opportunities mount.

As for that home run RyMac needed on Sunday for the cycle: the baseball gods made him wait until Monday.