Brandon Beachy, an undrafted free agent who played as a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, reflects on his impactful but short-lived MLB career. With a record of 14-12 and a notable 3.36 ERA, Beachy's peak years (2010-2012) showcased his skills, particularly against renowned hitters like Ichiro Suzuki. In his first piece for MLBTR, Beachy shares insights into his preparation and analysis of past games, emphasizing the importance of self-scouting despite facing challenges due to injuries that ultimately cut his career short.
For my first piece, I want to talk about what it was like to face one of baseball's greatest hitters: Ichiro Suzuki. As an undrafted free agent signing with the Atlanta Braves in 2008, I worked my way through the minors and made my Major League debut in September 2010. I had some success but unfortunately dealt with multiple elbow injuries that ultimately ended my career sooner than I'd hoped.
I want to set the scene by briefly describing my process and preparation. The day after my starts I would come in early, get my flush running in, and get into the gym. I'd then go through yesterday's start pitch by pitch.
Roger McDowell was very influential on me. The results mattered of course, but some of my toughest self-scouting days came after quality starts or even scoreless outings. I had days where I felt I had just gotten lucky after executing rather poorly.
I believed in the long run that process-oriented approach would yield better results over time. By tracking my fastballs and how often I hit my spot, I felt I was actively improving.
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