Tracy has become a valuable, unheralded piece of the first-place Nationals’ success not because of what he does on the field, under the lights. He thrives because of his daily regimen in a batting cage under the stands, the steady routine, careful study and intricate timing that lead into every precious at-bat.
“You’re mentally drained after the game,” Tracy said. “You may not be as physically drained as the guys playing out there. Mentally, just trying to figure when you’re going to go in the game and make sure you peak at the right time.”
Tracy signed a minor league contract with the Nationals this winter, after an injury-plagued season in Japan. General Manager Mike Rizzo had drafted Tracy when he worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he still believed Tracy could help his bench. Last month, the Nationals rewarded him with a $1 million contract extension for next season.
At this stage of his career, Tracy, 32, has embraced his role off the bench. For younger Nationals’ bench players, such asTyler Moore and Steve Lombardozzi, he serves as something of a guru. “He just kind of gives us a confidence,” Moore said. He shares with them his insight into pinch hitting, which he honed over several seasons.
“It did not come naturally,” Tracy said. “Usually, when I was sitting the bench early on, I was not happy. It was kind of like an angry at-bat — go up there and swing hard three times and see what happens.”
Intense preparation
Now, before a typical night game, Tracy will arrive in the Nationals clubhouse between 1 and 1:30 p.m. He eats lunch, and if he feels good he heads to the weight room. The most important part of Tracy’s routine comes next. He goes into the cage with hitting coach Rick Eckstein, an L-screen pulled to about 40 feet from the plate. First, he hits soft pitches — or “flips” — using only his left hand, called the “top hand drill.”
After 15 or so one-handed swings, Tracy begins his most serious work. Eckstein fires pitches at him — fastballs, sliders and curves — as hard as he can. The velocity mimics a 92- or 93-mph fastball, and Tracy treats the practice like in-game at-bats.
“I hit more when I’m not playing,” Tracy said. “When I was an everyday player, I’d take it easy.”
After the session with Eckstein, Tracy leafs through the book Nationals scouts prepare on the opposing pitching staff. Tracy places most of his focus on the opposing right-handed relievers, the pitchers he knows Johnson will try to match him up against. Tracy only wants to know the velocity of each of their pitches, and in what counts they tend to throw them.
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