DIY

Making better contact. Finding the right arm angle. Channeling the power within. For this group of players, little adjustments sparked big league success

FREDDY SÁNCHEZ PIRATES
After four years as a utility man, Sánchez proved in 2006 that he's wired for everyday use. Getting 500-plus ABs for the first time, he responded with an NL batting title. "Reps mean everything," says the 29-year-old infielder. "You're more focused on just hitting the ball hard." But .344? "Freddy makes adjustments while pitches are in flight," says Pirates batting coach Jeff Manto. "It's almost impossible to fool him." Among Sánchez's 200 hits were 53 doubles, the most by a Pirate since Paul Waner in 1936. "A lot of times I have no idea what pitch I hit," Sánchez admits. "Guys ask and I just don't know. I don't know if that's bad or good." When you hit .344, it can't be bad.

JEREMY SOWERS INDIANS
Pitchers get to the big leagues by making hitters swing and miss. But this 23-year-old lefthander believes that what's going to keep him in The Show is his ability to hit more bats—just not in the sweet spot, of course. "I always visualized the batter swinging and missing," Sowers says. "Now I picture him mis-hitting the ball. I don't have anything electric that's going to get me a lot of strikeouts, so I focus on missing the barrel" Sowers, whose 2.72 ERA after the break was second-best in the AL, does this by zeroing in on a batter's feet. "To get my two-seamer away to work, I need to get the hitter's feet moving off the plate. And to get him to roll over on an inside pitch, I need to catch him diving in" Then all that's left is for Sowers to hit the bat.

BRANDON WEBB DIAMONDBACKS
Catcher Chris Snyder says it's like "having someone throw a brick at you" Hitters call it the invisi-ball because it disappears as it nears the plate. And yet, not until last season, his fourth in the bigs, could Webb control his sinker. "The key is getting as close as possible to the same arm angle and release point every time" says the 27-year-old Cy Young winner. "Even the most minute change can make the ball take off" After walking 119 hitters in 2004, Webb passed 109 in '05 and '06 combined. He found the balance point on his right leg and learned to open his hips earlier. "When those two things are right, my elbow naturally finds the right slot" What the ball does, however, is hardly natural. Says Snyder, "I hear a lot of hitters grumbling, 'That's just not fair.' "

B.J. RYAN BLUE JAYS
Hitting against the Jays closer is like trying to catch an ice cube as it tumbles out of the freezer along with five slabs of meat. The cube isn't moving that fast—it's just that you see so much more. Ryan, a 31-year-old lefty, comes at hitters all elbows and knees. "It gives my pitches an element of deception," he says. "I'm able to be the power pitcher who throws 90 instead of 95." Ryan credits Mark Wiley, his pitching coach in Baltimore, with helping him improve his control without messing up his funk. "I learned I needed to get preloaded on my backside, so I could get on top of the ball." With 74 saves in 83 chances the past two seasons, Ryan is challenging Mariano Rivera as the AL's best closer. And he's coming faster than it appears.

BILL HALL BREWERS
There was a time when Hall put on a BP show that would have made José Canseco proud. Problem was, come game time, swinging big produced little. So former Brewers batting coach Butch Wynegar asked Hall, "Instead of trying to show your power, why don't you just let your power show?" Wynegar, now a Triple-A coach for the Yankees, radically changed Hall's pregame routine. "If I take six rounds of BP, I might not pull a ball until the fifth round," says the 27-year-old centerfielder. "I learned that I'm capable of hitting balls out the other way, and I'm still quick enough to handle the ball middle-in." Last year, his 35 homers more than doubled his previous high, and he had more extra-base hits than AL MVP Justin Morneau. Now there's no holding Hall back.

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