Today In Brewer History: Happy Anniversary, Corey Hart

by Kyle Lobner on Feb 12, 2012 6:00 AM CST in History

On this day in 2010 there weren't a lot of pleasant things said about Corey Hart in this space. Hart was a 2008 NL All Star but had regressed mightily since that point, hitting just .239/.263/.396 after the break that season and following it up with a .260/.335/.418 performance in 2009 with just 12 home runs. There weren't many of us excited about Hart's recent performance, and that was made all the worse when he won his arbitration hearing against the team and was awarded a $4.8 million salary for the upcoming season.

The troubles with Hart carried on into spring training: Amid concerns that he was playing with less than 20/20 eyesight Hart struggled in Cactus League play and actually lost the Opening Day starting job to recent acquisition Jim Edmonds. Hart rebounded fast, however, and went on to hit a career-high 31 home runs and make an All Star appearance despite the fact that he wasn't even on the ballot.

Before this day two years ago, Hart was a .273/.326/.470 career hitter. He's hit .284/.348/.518 since, and now paying $4.8 million for his services in 2010 doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

AZL Brewer Alejandro Mendoza, who turns 20.
2010 Brewer Adam Stern, who turns 32.

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Given Hart's amazing comeback the last two years maybe they mixed his and Braun's samples...

Streak Breakers.com

by Flanyboy on Feb 12, 2012 11:41 PM CST reply actions

He doesn't need supplements

He’s 100% all-natural caveman

Mark Attanasio is the best.

by nullacct on Feb 13, 2012 9:35 AM CST up reply actions

I submit for evidence...

This Eric Karabell article (Insider) from before the 2010 season opining the resurgence for one Jon Corey Hart. I was a neophyte around here at the time, but I was probably as big of a—or perhaps the only—cheerleader that Hart had at the time.

by mpbMKE on Feb 13, 2012 9:14 AM CST reply actions

The gist of the article...

Is that his OBP grew at almost the same rate his BA dropped. He had been taking a lot more pitches, so his walk rate increased, but he was a far less aggressive hitter, which took away his power. Karabell’s argument was that if he returned to his aggressive form, as hindsight tells us he did, he should pick up at his All-Star pace, which happened.

What also happened, which I doubt even the biggest optimist could have guessed, was that he developed much better plate discipline overall. While it’s still frustrating to watch him wave at the low-away slider, his OBP has increased each year from .300 in 2008 to .335 in 2009, .340 in 2010, and .356 last season.

I always sense an undercurrent of derision when people talk about Hart, like they can’t shake whatever negative opinions they formed of him during that season-and-a-half stretch, even though his overall body of work has been that of a very good major league outfielder.

by mpbMKE on Feb 13, 2012 9:24 AM CST up reply actions

Correction

I always sense an undercurrent of derision when people talk about Hart, like they can’t shake whatever negative opinions they formed of him during that season-and-a-half stretch, even though his overall body of work has been that of a very good major league ~~outfielder~~ hitter.

by sjlee on Feb 13, 2012 10:19 AM CST up reply actions

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