Richey Improving at Instructs

The 10th round selection in this year’s draft spent most of the season with Kingsport where, after early struggles, he put his game together to become a sturdy contributor in the infield. Brandon Richey joined Savannah in the final weeks of the club’s season, yet was slow to produce at the plate. Now at the Instructional League camp, he is working on all facets of his game to get ready for 2008.

“When I look back on my season, I’m not a big numbers guy, the body will tell me if I played well, and I feel like I really played well after the first month. I was shaky that first month but then I really got myself in control and contributed to the team,” said Brandon Richey of his first few weeks with the K-Mets.

The Savannah shortstop toiled around .240 as he acclimated himself to the professional ranks. Yet Richey admitted that in the early going he played outside of himself and found that was doing things outside of his normal habit.

“When I started with Kingsport, I was just doing things that came unnatural to me, like going after off-speed pitches in hitter’s counts, and my defense never really felt set,” he said.

However as the season went and the at-bats kept coming, Richey settled down and found a rhythm. His swing became more consistent and the confidence he attained began to translate to all parts of his game. Perhaps the determining factor was the realization of how to incorporate his game into what his coaches and the organization asked and expected from him.

“I definitely found comfort in finding my game within the framework of how the Mets want us to play the game. You always want to play within yourself, but you always play your own game within the organization,” he said. “Whenever you come to a new team, system, there is always something going to be different, and I need to learn to tweak my game to that. Once I did that, everything became easier because I found how I play within their system.”

Richey got at a crack at Savannah, but during his eleven game tenure really never got off the ground. Although his mechanics were there, he struggled at the plate and hit just .167 (6-for-36) with one double and one RBI. He found himself in situation much like he was in Kingsport, seemingly always one at-bat, one hit away from breaking through.

“I think really I was just a big game away. I had a few games where I was hitting balls really hard right at guys. I think it was a matter of getting, say a three-hit game, or even getting a few cheap hits, that kept me from really putting it together to boost my confidence sky-high,” he explained.

Again though, he found himself breaking pattern and chasing off-speed pitches in favorable counts. His approach at the plate was skewed and required realignment. When he arrived in St. Lucie for Instructs, he knew correcting these holes would dominate his work at the plate.

“After working down here, I’ve learned that I really don’t want to hit the off-speed pitch until strike two. Earlier, I was looking for off-speed pitches and it’s really never good to do that unless it’s a two-strike count,” he said. “I did get away from my game plan a bit, but I felt like I got it back after it being pounded into my head in Instructional League, and I just hope that I won’t get away from it again.”

On the side of the ball, he continues to work with infield instructor Kevin Morgan on his defensive consistency. Richey made a team-leading 20 errors in 41 games with Kingsport, and knows for his game to truly come around, he needs his glove to develop as much as his bat.

“My defense…was inconsistent,” he said. “I was making too many mistakes, and as a shortstop I just can’t have that many again. Kevin [Morgan] and I are really working on everything. I’m really getting the hang of what there working with me on, and it’s more about doing the things that Kevin is teaching me to do.”

“The faster I put in the work, the faster my body will adjust and the better I will be. I just need the repetition and I think that’s where we are right now in the Instructional League,” he said.

As he looks back on his year, even through the rough patches and the leaky defense, he still maintains a fighter’s attitude. As a three-year collegiate player he came into the system with strong mechanics, but Richey is renewed and determined to make something more out of next season.

“I am a world different from where I was even this past season at school. I feel like I’m an entirely new player. The progression I’ve made with these guys down here, it’s been amazing. I feel that I’ll be ready next year to start in Savannah, have a good year, and than take that natural progression up the latter,” he said.