HOUSTON — Ray Montgomery recently pulled Christian Moore aside for a gentle reminder.
“C-Mo,” the Angels’ interim manager said to his rookie second baseman, “You’re used to getting two hits every time you go play a game. That’s not going to happen here. You’re so closely removed from it that your mind takes time to catch up to that.”
It was only 15 months ago that Moore was dominating in the College World Series, completing an amateur career in which he simply had to show up to the field to be the best player out there.
Now, Moore is hitting is .202, and it took four hits in his last three games to get him over the Mendoza Line – aka .200 – for the first time in his “career.”
The word career goes in quotes because Moore, 22, has played only 37 big-league games, which certainly seemed like a lengthy slump to him but is actually just the blink of an eye.
At least, that’s what his manager and his veteran teammates have been telling Moore, as they have told every other young player when he endures the rite of passage of that first “slump.”
“Everyone goes through it,” 35-year-old right-hander Kyle Hendricks said. “It’s good for you at the end of the day. It’s where you learn about yourself.”
Catcher Travis d’Arnaud, 36, was a first-round pick and had a couple moments in the minors and early in the majors when he learned that the natural talent that served him so well his entire life no longer separated him from his peers.
“Buster Posey came up and was almost instantly the best catcher in the game,” d’Arnaud said of the former San Francisco Giants star. “I wouldn’t say I was assuming that would happen, but I was hopeful it would. And when it didn’t, when I talked to people, I learned the vast majority of people go through the path that I went through, versus what Buster did. I think that opened my eyes to relax and just go play baseball and have fun. Don’t put extra pressure on what you’re doing.”
Outfielder Taylor Ward, 31, was a first-round pick as a catcher in 2015. He went through two position changes and a .181 average over parts of two big-league seasons before settling in as even a mediocre big leaguer. It took another two seasons, until he was 28, for him to finally realize his potential as an above-average player.
“I think everybody kind of goes at their own pace,” Ward said. “And just honestly, it probably comes down to coaches along the way, helping us make those strides.”
Ward said he remembered a conversation last year with Zach Neto when the young shortstop was going through a rough stretch.
“You’re gonna play for the next 12-plus years and you’ve got thousands of at-bats coming your way,” Ward said. “Just try to learn from every at-bat and then move on.”
Veteran players agree that everyone hits the wall at some point. For some, like Moore, it may not happen until they reach the majors. In that case, it’s a little more complicated because the world is watching, and outsiders may not have the patience that their peers know is necessary.
Hendricks said he had plenty of “practice” in adjusting to the notion that success would be difficult, because he’d been fighting uphill ever since he was a high school kid playing against first-rounders in Southern California.
Even after a good college career at Dartmouth, he was an 11th-round pick and showed up in the minor leagues for an immediate reality check.
“These kids from extended spring were throwing bullpens and I see every guy throwing 95 or low 90s, and I’m barely touching 90,” Hendricks said. “That was eye-opening for me. That’s where I kind of decided that I need to learn from what my strengths are for real and what I can do best. I need to learn to make the ball move. I need to learn to throw a real good changeup. I didn’t spin the ball great at that time. I threw a four-seam and a curveball, which is not my game at all. So that’s where I started to flip.
“That’s where I started to learn my game, from guys who were better than me.”
Even a player like Neto, who was the 13th overall pick and took less than a year to get to the majors, had moments where he learned that what got him to the majors wouldn’t necessarily keep him there.
Neto used to use an exaggerated leg kick on all pitches before two strikes. Then he ditched it against certain pitchers. Now he doesn’t use it all. Jo Adell went through a similar transformation as he changed his swing and approach, finally enjoying a breakthrough at age 26.
Those type of physical adjustments are important, but the veterans who have been through it said the most important adjustment is mental. It’s about coming to grips with the reality of competing at the highest level.
“The mental side of it is tough,” d’Arnaud said. “It’s definitely tough.”
Just Wednesday night, 24-year-old Jack Kochanowicz gave up 11 runs in a nightmare game that ballooned his ERA for his first full season to 6.81. Kochanowicz was effective as a major-league pitcher for two months last year, so the physical talent is there. He said after the game that part of the solution is learning to “just get out of my head.”
Moore had a few hero moments in his first weeks in the majors, but lately they have been more at the other end of the spectrum. After a key strikeout late in Sunday’s game, Moore sat alone in the dugout for a few minutes after the game.
A few days – and a few hits – later, he seemed to have it all in perspective.
“I don’t think the confidence goes away,” he said. “When I step in the box, I know I’m the best player out there. I don’t think I’m overmatched out there. I know my moves are good enough to compete.
“Just getting over the hump and understanding (a pitcher) may have a little more hop on his heater or may have a little more bite to his slider than I’m used to … just figuring that out. It’s all right. It’s fun. I love going out there and competing. You’re going to make a lot more outs than hits, so you’ve got to understand that.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-8, 4.73) at Astros (TBD), 5:10 p.m. PT Friday, FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM