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How a ‘gut punch’ conversation helped Chicago Cubs 3rd baseman Patrick Wisdom improve his defense

Patrick Wisdom’s end-of-season meeting with the Chicago Cubs involved some hard truths.

Wisdom can carry the offense for stretches when he gets locked in and rips off a barrage of extra-base hits. Streakiness has been part of his offensive profile the last two years, at times a battle to cut down strikeouts and lessen the severity and length of slumps.

But good defense should be a constant no matter what happens in the batter’s box. And that, manager David Ross and his staff conveyed to Wisdom, needed to be addressed for 2023. The Cubs put it simply to Wisdom: He needs to flush his at-bats and not let them carry over to the field.

“It’s definitely something I needed to hear, not necessarily what I wanted to hear — it’s like a gut punch,” Wisdom told the Tribune. “Sometimes I was caught on my heels because my mind is somewhere else. I want to perform so well at the plate that it kind of filtered into the field.

“It’s hard because when you’re in the moment, these blinders go on and you can’t hear or think straight and then the next thing you know, the ball’s hit at you and you’re like, ‘Crap.’

“So, be centered and be present. I took that to heart.”

Wisdom, 31, knew the Cubs’ assessment was right, so he spent the offseason reflecting. It required deep introspection to break down why offensive struggles would affect his defense so greatly. Too often, Wisdom realized, he was caught dwelling on his swing or ticked off by his last at-bat. His mindset needed recalibrating.

“It was a good period in the offseason of addressing where I was insufficient within my emotions and fixing that,” Wisdom said. “Knowing that coming into spring training, I was able to leapfrog some of those hurdles. It was a matter of reflecting on the emotional back-and-forth that I was having.”

Beyond improved focus, Wisdom has changed how he tracks a pitch, something he started working on in the second half of 2022. Instead of trying to follow the ball’s path from the pitcher’s hand to the hitter, Wisdom adjusted his eyes to watch the batter as soon as the pitcher begins his delivery.

It’s the same pre-pitch preparation Nick Madrigal implemented in the offseason for his move to third base. And like Madrigal, Wisdom watched video of Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen to gain a better understanding of how tracking the ball that way can lead to more consistent defense.

Bench coach Andy Green, who works with Cubs infielders, saw that ball-tracking messaging begin to pay off for Wisdom near the end of last season. After committing 10 errors in 88 first-half games, Wisdom had three errors over his last 43 games.

“Everything starts with seeing the ball and picking the ball up as early as possible,” Green told the Tribune. “Sometimes you get so consumed with technique, you lose sight of, I just need to see the baseball.”

Wisdom’s sight-line change produces a quicker reaction and first step on balls off the bat.

“Because it’s so fast, my eyes couldn’t keep up,” Wisdom said of the adjustment. “Timing on pre-pitches is now way better because I find myself just flowing with the pitch whenever it’s fouled off.”

The Cubs’ conviction in Wisdom’s defense at third hasn’t wavered. They view last year as an aberration and reiterated during the end-of-season meeting that he possesses the glove and strong arm to be an asset at the position.

Wisdom appreciated their kick-in-the-butt approach to his defensive inconsistencies while still expressing confidence in his ability.

“He’s really talented, and he’s also human like the rest of us,” Green said. “You make a mistake, you think about that. Most of us think about our mistakes for too long. And the longer we fixate on those, the more likely they are to happen again.

“So it’s just flushing mistakes. It’s not harping on them too long. Rarely is there something fundamentally incorrect with Wiz. He just has to discard it.”

Wisdom also dealt with a back issue for “a long time” last year, Green said, which affected his mobility. Green credited Wisdom for never complaining, staying in the lineup and trying to play through the ailment. Wisdom appeared in 134 games and went on the injured list only once, missing 14 days in the final month because of a sprained ring finger.

“Now he’s moving again and feeling much more like himself,” Green said. “I think we’re going to see the real Patrick Wisdom again this year. He’s a good defender.

“This game will beat you up, and the guys that can take the constructive information and do something positive with it are going to play for a long time. And he does that.”

Wisdom projects to provide the best defense among the Cubs’ third-base options. They also could get him in the lineup in right field while Seiya Suzuki is out with an oblique strain. Wisdom started nine games in the outfield last season — six in right and three in left.

Defensive versatility is always an asset, especially as the Cubs consider how to build their opening-day bench. There are no guarantees Wisdom will get the bulk of playing time at third base this year.

Madrigal continues to get a long look there this spring. He has made five of his six starts at third, including in Tuesday’s 9-6 win against the Texas Rangers. Edwin Ríos, who hit his second Cactus League home run Tuesday, is also in the third-base mix. The trio gives the Cubs matchup options to maximize their strengths against each game’s starting pitcher.

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Source: Berkshire mont

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