Chone Figgins led off the first inning of a recent game against the Chicago White Sox with a wicked liner to first baseman Paul Konerko for an out.
Earlier in his career, maybe even earlier this season, Figgins would have tinkered with his swing in his next at-bat or two, thinking he had to do something different to get a hit, but that thought never crossed his mind that day.
The Angels third baseman kept the same approach and singled twice in his next three at-bats, another example of the maturity and consistency that has helped the 31-year-old become one of baseball's best leadoff hitters.
"To hit line drives and not get results stinks more than anything," Figgins said. "You'd rather break a bat and squirt one over the pitcher's head and get an infield hit than line out, because regardless of what anyone says, statistics count, and getting on base is what counts for your team.
"A lot of times, when balls aren't falling in, most of us change our approach, even though we're hitting line drives. It's hard to fight that urge."
Figgins has developed an almost Zen-like approach to hitting, one that keeps him calm whether his average is soaring or dropping, whether his line drives are hitting gaps or gloves.
When he's hot, Figgins has a simple explanation: "Holes, man," he'll say. "Finding holes." When he's not? He'll usually blame it on his line drives and hard ground balls getting caught.
So, when Figgins went two for 23 in six games May 8-14 and his average fell to .244, he did not panic.
The switch-hitter remained patient -- only 18% of his swings this season have been at pitches out of the strike zone and he has seen 4.13 pitches per plate appearance, 13th highest in the American League, and has improved that average in each of the last three years.
He took what pitchers gave him by turning on balls on the inner half of the plate and hitting balls on the outer half the other way. He concentrated on hitting line drives and hard ground balls and utilizing his speed.
The result? Figgins went 26 for 66 (.394) with 11 runs over his next 16 games, raising his average to .296 before tonight's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
He also has a .378 on-base percentage with 26 walks and only 29 strikeouts in 189 at-bats, and has stolen 20 bases in 23 attempts.
