For Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman, 2017 has been a season of adjustment and growth. Several trips back-and-forth from Triple-A to the Rockies marked his first month before he stuck in the big league rotation, following a string of excellent spot-start performances. Then came a recent game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field where he surrendered more runs in one inning (nine) than he had in the four games he had started to that point combined (eight).
After that beatdown, manager Bud Black intimated, quite boldly considering it’s proximity to what had just occurred, that it could become a blessing in disguise for Hoffman, something to learn from. And, it would appear, he did.
While not bouncing back to pure domination, Hoffman posted highly quality outings his next two times out, going 6.2, then seven innings, giving up a combined five runs.
He even managed to collect his very first RBI Monday night against the Reds, and while that isn’t necessarily indicative of production you can expect from him in the future, his response to BSN Denver’s question about his sudden offensive output shows a great deal about the kind of competitor Hoffman is.
“See ball, hit ball,” he joked at first. “I actually had a conversation with Sally (Danny Salazar) between my last start and now just kinda talking about what my approach should be. I feel like I’ve gotten up to bat with runners on third, or runners on second and third a lot recently, and not being able to come through for the team is eating at me a little bit. So I stood in on a bullpen this time around, just watching pitches go by and I think that helped me. I just shortened up and tried to shoot the ball the other way and it worked.”
He admits that he wishes certain on-the-mound adjustments had managed to pay off just as quickly, but knows that baseball is a much more difficult challenge than that.
“Things happen slowly,” he says. “One adjustment at a time. Over that time since last year, me and Fosty (Steve Foster) guys like Chad (Bettis) and Jon (Gray) everybody around me helped to make those small adjustments to be what I’m showing now. I feel like I’ve done a better job of keeping my emotions in check, not letting the game speed out of control. Last year, I was a totally different pitcher I think. This year, I’m more in the zone and more just in command of everything; my body, my emotions, my pitches.”
Just like Gray, who told us that some of his worst outings in his first campaign were the ones that taught him the most — especially when it comes to trusting that he can go right through hitters instead of around them — Hoffman seems to have actually gained confidence after taking a licking. He needs to be the aggressor, and the word “attack” has become a bigger part of his vernacular.
This is how the whole club operates and that mentality helps.
“I think regardless of how we’ve played as of late, everybody is in a good spot,” Hoffman said. “I don’t think there needs to be some dramatic change to our game plan or anything like that, I think guys are just going out and doing their best to do their job on any given night. We’re not changing anything, we’ll keep putting our feet on the gas.”
The Rockies have been hoping for big things from Hoffman since they acquired him as a central piece in the Troy Tulowitzki trade. Spending some time with him, it’s clear that he has even higher expectations of himself. He isn’t in Denver to be good. He is in Denver to be great. And he will keep making “one adjustment at a time” until he gets there.
