It's 1:30 p.m. on a sunny Monday afternoon, more than five hours before game time, and Lansing left fielder Kevin Collins is already down in the batting cage, working on his swing.
The Lugnuts slugger was recently named the starter and designated hitter for today's Midwest League All-Star Game, a long way from last season when his number of strikeouts almost doubled his number of hits.
"Last year was a long year for me," Collins said. "It can be frustrating but when you have 140 games with a game almost every day you can't let it get to you. There are days when you get down but you just have to trust in yourself and keep working."
That work is now paying off for the Cubs' 24th round pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound lefty is batting .297 this season with 19 home runs and 70 hits in 65 games at the end of the first half of the season. The numbers are staggering compared with last season when Collins batted .225 with 14 home runs, 69 hits in 89 games.
Collins' 19 home runs are second in the Midwest League, just behind teammate and roommate, first baseman Brian Dopirak.
"It's great to have someone like that behind you because of the pitches I'm going to see since the pitchers don't want to get to him," Dopirak said. "It really helps the person in front if the guy behind him in the lineup is swinging a hot bat."
The improvement in Collins hitting numbers, including a .623 slugging percentage, has had a lot to do with working on little parts of his swing.
"The biggest thing I've been trying to change is to have less movement in my swing," Collins said. "I'm trying to keep my head still so I can see the pitches better. When you see them better, you can have better pitches to swing at."
Finding good pitches has been an issue for Collins. Last year he led the team in strike-outs with 116.
"He struck out quite a bit last year at the plate," said Julio Garcia, Lugnuts manager.
"To his credit, he never once complained when he was struggling. He just hung in there and the only way to get better is to swing more and now he's reaping the benefits of that hard work."
Collins' hard work has included extra batting practice and working with the coaches at improving the mechanics of his swing.
"It kind of started last year with trying to find something that worked for my swing," Collins said. "I would try something for a couple days or a week to see how that went. If that didn't work then trying something else.
However, it's not just Collins' work on his swing that has helped to drastically raise his numbers, he also has changed positions and improved defensively, allowing himself more time in the lineup.
The Tampa, Fla., native played mostly first base last year in his first season with the Lugnuts, but coaches asked him early this spring to switch to left field.
"With Brian coming in at first base, we moved Kevin to outfield so he could get more at bats," Garcia said. "At left field, he has done better than an adequate job."
Switching positions was not Collins' first choice but he said he would do anything to keep him playing.
"If I had to pick one, I'd say I like first base better but really any position that I can play, it's better for me," Collins said. "Playing two positions has helped me so that way I can get in the lineup every day and hit."
Being able to play two positions is an advantage for Collins who knows that being multi-dimensional gives players an edge for moving up in the minor league system.
"There are 160 guys in every organization and every year 30 more are added, which means 30 lose their job," Collins said. "The older you get, the harder it is to keep your position."
"I wouldn't have any other job in the world if I could."
According to Dopirak, Collins' love of baseball makes him a fun guy to be around in the locker room.
"He's a great guy," said Dopirak, with a smile."This is the first year I've gotten to be around him quite a bit and I've seen that he has a good heart.
"I hope that everything works out for the best for him."
