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Following Monday’s Nebraska baseball press conference inside Memorial Stadium, I asked Omaha WOW-TV reporter Ross Jernstrom if the Huskers’ new hitting coach made a smart move. After a quick laugh, we agreed that Darin Erstadmay have had good reason for firing himself as the offensive coach when he became NU's head coach, but now it makes equally consummate sense for him to rehire himself.
Why is that so obvious? Because Jernstrom and I see Erstad as a driven man with a perfectionist personality, enabling him to find a way for Nebraska hitters to reinvigorate their passion, reinvent their swings and recapture an offense that will be necessary for a Husker team that dreams big, plays tough teams and craves the opportunity to reach Omaha.
Nebraska’s largest city will host two billboard baseball events this year – the 2016 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament May 25-29 at TD Ameritrade Park and Omaha's 2016 College World Series that begins June 18 inside the same ballpark. If Nebraska qualifies for such events, the Huskers need to find the right pitchers, improve their defense and hope the bats come alive so they can flourish against top-tier talent through an aggressive schedule.
Teaching hitting is fun, especially if you’re Erstad, who spent 14 years in Major League Baseball, getting 1,697 hits and recording a .282 career batting average. He hit 316 doubles, 33 triples, 124 home runs and had 699 runs batted in. Common sense says if Erstad can deliver that much at Major League Baseball’s highest level, he can teach his alma mater what it takes to get there.
Erstad: I’ve Learned from Asking Great Coaches a Lot of Questions
“I’ve done it (instruct hitters) once here before and it didn’t go very well,” Erstad admitted. “That’s why I fired myself and then I rehired myself. It’s a great challenge. I enjoy it. I’ve learned a lot in my last few years, being around a lot of great coaches and asking a lot more questions.”
The answers Erstad received from his most recent rounds of asking important questions are fundamentally sound answers that strengthen the foundation from which he’ll coach.
“I have a lot of knowledge, but being able to articulate that into something a kid can understand and have him relate to is what’s important,” Erstad said. “I’ve done a much better job of that this time around. I’ve laid out how we’re going to go about our business. I can’t sit here and tell you I was good at that when I did it my volunteer year. I had a lot of good conversations with guys, but I don’t think we had the consistency because I didn’t give it to them. They have that now.”
One reporter Monday asked Erstad if he would call the offense from the dugout this season. When he said yes, Erstad was asked who helped communicate hitting techniques to him. Such skillsets are gleaned “through the course of your life,” Erstad said. “You take a little bit from everybody, whether you like ‘em or not, then you formulate your own opinion.”
It’s Scary How Similar Erstad’s Approach, Philosophy Match with Bolt’s
Erstad’s approach also traces back to meaningful conversations with former assistant coach Will Bolt, now in his second season on the Texas A&M baseball staff. “When Will and I first talked, it’s scary how similar it was,” Erstad said, referring to their respective philosophy. “It matched up great. Will was fantastic articulating it to his players. I learned a ton from him.”
Equally productive were Erstad’s conversations with Mickey Hatcher, a friend who had a career .280 batting average in 12 MLB seasons (six years each with the Dodgers and the Twins). “He was a big influence with the Angels, just having that understanding and picking guys’ brains,” Erstad said. “For me, it’s talking to our players and getting them to talk back to me. It's understanding their language and being on the same page with them. It's understanding what their secret guru hitting coach in some other state’s teaching them when we’re not together and understanding what that is. We’re on the same page and not wasting everybody’s time.”
Non-Cookie-Cutter Guy: Successful Hitting Boils Down to Communication
Bottom line, successful hitting “boils down to communication,” Erstad said. “I’m not here to change somebody’s swing or to change what their body normally does. I’m not a cookie-cutter guy that makes everybody do the same thing…just work together and piece together that swing. We’ve tried to shorten up a lot of our swings. I felt like we’re swinging under water a lot, laying on a lot of pitches, and not having good balance at the plate. We’ve worked a lot on our foundations at the plate and shortening up.”
The next 10 days are critical for everyone. “Right out of the gate, Charleston’s no joke,” Erstad said of Nebraska’s three-game series opener in South Carolina on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19-20-21. “Charleston has a tremendous program. The challenge for us and this schedule is we don’t have that big flashy name up there, but I’ll tell you now, there are some good baseball teams on that schedule, and if we take anybody for granted, we’re going to get our tails whipped. We’re not good enough to roll the balls out there and expect to win.”
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