00:00Once you became a regular player last year in May, mid-May,
00:03you were one of the best offensive players in the sport.
00:05You carried it right through the playoffs as a valuable player.
00:08You struggled for most of the first four months of the season.
00:12The last two, three weeks, you've looked like the Mark Vientos of last season.
00:17Why? What's turned around for you?
00:21I think just adjusting to the game, man.
00:27This is the big leagues for a reason.
00:30It's the best of the best.
00:31You're facing them every single day.
00:33And last year, I probably didn't have as much info on me.
00:38Now this year, they have a ton of info.
00:41They know everything about me.
00:43And I think it's just adjusting.
00:47Adjusting is probably like the biggest word that everybody uses in this game.
00:52And I think I kind of have an idea of the cat and mouse game that goes on in this game on a daily basis.
01:03And I'm learning and I'm getting better.
01:06So I appreciate the four months that I went through that rough stretch because it's just going to help me grow and get better.
01:14Well, eight home runs since August 17th.
01:19So you certainly have adjusted.
01:21Could you talk a little bit about, I know it's probably complicated and a lot to it, but could you talk about the adjustments that you've made to get yourself back on track?
01:31I think the adjustments I made is just like kind of reminding myself of what type of hitter I am and what type of player I am.
01:42And just being good at that on a daily basis because I feel like as baseball players and as people, I always want to be a perfectionist.
01:54So I always want to be perfect.
01:56And that kind of took me a little bit away from what I'm good at, which is driving the baseball.
02:04And I kind of got back to it just like, hey, I got four or five at-bats.
02:12If I strike out my first one, which I don't like striking out, and that's one of the things that bothers me the most is striking out.
02:19It's like I got three more at-bats to play with to help the team.
02:23And I think that's where you separate every at-bat and that at-bat that you have in that moment is the most important one.
02:34And I think that's what I'm doing a better job with now.
02:37You know, Mark, I think to be around you with any regularity is to see a confident guy, especially when it comes to hitting.
02:45In those first four months, did you lose some confidence?
02:48Am I good enough to hit in the major leagues consistently like last year?
02:51I'm going to be honest with you.
02:54Even when I'm playing well, you get those negative thoughts if you're good enough to do anything.
02:59It could have been in Little League when I was 10 years old, all the way to now, you get those thoughts.
03:05And it's just normal.
03:07I feel like no matter where I get to in this game, All-Star, one of the best players in the game,
03:15you're always going to get those negative thoughts.
03:18And it's just kind of focusing on the moment and not letting it get to you because it's normal.
03:26At the end of the day, we're human beings and negative thoughts are normal.
03:31I think around that time, obviously, my confidence wasn't at its peak, but I pushed myself every day
03:42and believed that I was going to get through it.
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