Mark Canha Has Inside Track on Final Brewers Roster Spot, as an Avatar of Team Good Swing Decisions

It's not a secret that the Brewers emphasize good swing decisions. They're not primarily selecting hitters for the ability to blast the ball, not because they despair of the value of power—there's no question that power drives modern offense—but because that skill is usually very expensive, and because the team knows they have other options. They can, more consistently, excel at knowing when to swing, and where to place the ball.

It's not that simple, of course. With pitchers getting better and their stuff getting more intense all the time, it's never been more difficult to hit the ball to a particular spot on the field, at least with any measure of authority. With the right approach, though, it's possible, and it's what the team does better than anyone else. In the last week, we've examined the team's unique knack for generating power when down to their last strike in the count; Oliver Dunn's efforts to round out his offensive skill set and cover the zone better this year; Blake Perkins's swing decisions-based approach to reducing his strikeout rate; and the unique talent of three young Milwaukee hitters for pushing ground balls to the opposite side of the diamond. We need to hear from another key source, though, because he's the very model of the modern Brewers batter.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Mark Canha last week, when asked whether knowing how highly the team prizes the patience he brings to the batter's box helped him decide to sign with them. "I kind of saw that last year with the Tigers. I think that’s why they picked me up last year, and it’s kinda cool when I see that rubbing off on the younger guys, and it starts to become part of what people do. It shows up and helps. It helps you win ballgames."

Canha is happy to set an example, but communicating what he's seeing to teammates can be difficult. That's the challenge of creating a cohesive and productive team approach: Even if there's a shared language within the clubhouse and the dugout, each batter's eye speaks its own language when it comes to reading and reacting to an incoming pitch.

"That's well said," Canha remarked. "My door’s always open, and if I see something, I’m not afraid to go up to a guy and tell him what I think. It kind of just rubs off naturally, and I always tell young guys, ‘You’ve gotta make it your own thing, of how you go about it. Know what your strengths are, know what your weaknesses are, and try to play to your strengths.' That’s how I go about it."

Some 4,000 plate appearances into his career and on the long-toothed side of his 36th birthday, Canha has remained consistently productive, thanks mostly to great swing decisions. He has a career strikeout rate of 20.5% and a walk rate of 10.1%, testifying to his ability to tell balls from strikes. From there, Canha tries to keep it simple: Put the best swing he can on the pitches that will be in the zone, and let the rest go.

Simplicity is the watchword Pat Murphy would like his team to adopt, too.

"I’m really big into the mentality when you go to the dish. I’m big into the mentality when you get to first base," Murphy said last week, in one of his daily meetings with the media. "I’m big into understanding how you have to wash it off when that result’s [not] there. You can’t be emotionally connected to the result; you’ve got to be emotionally connected to the process.

"Understand if clarity is part of your process, you can’t confuse yourself with all the information and try to react to what the guy does. It is a reactionary position, but you’ve got to be able to react like"—a snap of his fingers—"THIS. So a clear mind and a convicted mind I think helps you do that, and they can’t hear it too much, because it’s really hard to get to in our game. It’s easy to talk about—like a lot of stuff, in coaching, it’s easy to talk about and profess. But how can you impact the player to actually do it—to stand there and do it? It’s hard."

That's a lot of hitting philosophy packed into a few short, impassioned seconds, but it mirrors much of what Canha is saying: Hitting is and must be simple, and it is and must be a team effort. At the same time, it is and must be studied and executed by each individual, for themselves.

"You talk to guys like [Christian Yelich], [Rhys Hoskins], Willy Adames, [William Contreras]—guys who have been around for a little while and have seen a lot of these pitchers, seen them multiple times," Joey Ortiz said. "But I think a lot of it comes down to your own study work. You’ve got to make sure that you’re prepared, and not leaning on anyone else to get you prepared. At least for me, when I was in a good position, I was preparing myself the day before or the evening before, after the game, and getting ready to face the next guy. I think a lot of it is preparation and putting yourself in a good position."

Canha, like the other veterans Ortiz listed, is respected and trusted by younger teammates. He can't transfer them his vision or his instincts, though. He can only show them, and do his best to tell them what he's trying to do. The same goes for the team's made-over hitting coach co-op. Murphy is optimistic about the impact Al LeBoeuf will have on his new charges.

"He’s simple," Murphy said, simply. "Hitting can become so convoluted today, with all the information that’s out there. Hitters can go to the plate, actually, with maybe too much on their plate, instead of convicted, confident, clear. I like to think of hitters going to the plate with confidence and conviction. I think Al can kind of get them to that point, where it’s more about the hitter than it is about the stuff. I like what he brings. I like his perspective, simplicity, experience. Guys love him. They pick up really quickly that, ‘Hey, this guy cares.’"

Being great as a team is not optional for the Brewers. Neither is being great at controlling the strike zone. It's the first thing in a series of things they have to do at the plate to succeed, but if they don't do it, nothing else will matter—and if they let their focus stray beyond their first, simplest mandate, they probably won't accomplish it. Canha is in a battle with Jake Bauers, Manuel Margot and others for the final spot on the team's bench this year, but he's the heavy favorite for that job. Part of the reason is that, even if he can't imbue all his teammates with his own excellent plate discipline, he helps them all get there in their own ways.