By the end of Cal Towey's Class AA run last season, he had himself so confused with adjustments that he had no chance of putting together good at bats.
"Thinking just doesn't go well," he said.
Towey, in his second year with the Arkansas Travelers, vowed to simplify to start this season. He didn't play in any fall or winter leagues as he cleared his mind, and when he arrived at spring training in Arizona he did so with a renewed faith in his original approach and swing. The results are starting to show.
Towey went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple and scored two runs in the Travs' 9-4 victory over the Springfield Cardinals in front of 3,739 fans Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The fifth-inning triple was his second in as many games and third of the season. He's hit safely in seven of his past eight games to raise his average to .286, and he's hitting .348 (8-for-23) with four extra-base hits over his past seven games.
Don't bother asking about any major breakthroughs.
"Nothing, really," Towey said when asked what the difference has been the past week. "Just trying to enjoy it and have fun each day."
Towey's laid-back style in which he's learned less tinkering is better has meshed well with first-year Manager Mark Parent, who puts his players to work during the day and lets them handle things on their own during the games.
Parent said he didn't have any talks with Towey in spring training about rebounding from last year. Instead, the biggest help he's given Towey is inserting him into the lineup every day to show that his preferred approach leads to results.
"Nobody is telling him to kick a leg in the air, get his bat down or anything like that," Parent said. "We've got to let these guys play, see what they can do, see where they fit in and then judge on that."
The opposite occurred for Towey last season, when a respectable start -- he hit .260 with 13 RBI in April -- was followed by a slump in May from which he never recovered. Towey, 26, finished the season hitting .215 with 2 home runs, 49 RBI and a .340 on-base percentage, all career lows since he was a 17th-round pick out of Baylor in 2013.
"I just feel like I tinkered with stuff too much and just tried to go away from who I was," he said. "If you try to change too much stuff, it keeps going downhill."
Towey's results and ability to play a variety of positions indicate more at bats are coming. Third baseman Andrew Daniel was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a groin injury, and infielder Sherman Johnson hasn't played since Monday with a stiff neck.
Parent had to turn to Towey, who played only in the outfield last year, to finish Tuesday's victory at Frisco at third base. Towey, who played some third base at Class A Inland Empire in 2014, handled that opportunity fine, and he played all of Thursday's game at third without committing an error.
"He sure looked good over there today," Parent said.
Towey was one of three Travs to get at least two hits Thursday. Bo Way went 4 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, while Eric Aguilera went 2 for 4, including his third home run, which came in the sixth inning to give the Travs an 8-4 lead.
Starter Jordan Kipper struck out the first four batters and earned his first victory after giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and striking out 6 over 5 2/3.
Sports on 04/22/2016