PHOENIX -- Chris Young did not go into the offseason trying to make himself a different player. He is who he is.
The subtle changes the Diamondbacks center fielder made over the winter have made him a more comfortable hitter, and his early success stands as testament. But the mechanical changes explain only part of it, Young said after hitting his fifth home run of the season in the D-backs' 5-1 victory over the Pirates at Chase Field on Monday.
"Ultimately, it’s having more rhythm at the plate and being able to relax a little more," Young said.
"I’ve found a way to relax as much as I can and not get too stressed out. Last year, I think I got in trouble a lot of times because I would go from pretty much a standstill to 100 percent all at one time, and it would cause me to be jumpy at the plate.
"The biggest change I’ve made is trying to find a way to slow down and let the ball come to me a little more."
The ball comes to him. He sends it away.
Young’s two-run homer in the sixth inning gave left-hander Joe Saunders a 4-1 lead that grew to 5-1 on Gerardo Parra’s pinch-hit homer in the seventh. Saunders survived a shaky first inning – four runners, one run – for his first victory of the season.
“It’s definitely nice as a starting pitcher to know that if you give up one or two in the first that you are not going to lose the game, especially with our offense and the way Mr. Young is swinging the bat right now,” Saunders said.
Young is dominating a leaderboard the way Tiger Woods used to. He is second in the National League in home runs, second in OPS (1.377), third in RBI (13) and third in batting average (.405). He has hit safely in nine of the D-backs' 10 games and walked twice in the other game, when the Rockies were smart enough to pitch around him last Friday. Young has done his damage hitting second, third, fourth and fifth in the lineup.
"He’s being the type of player everyone in this locker room knows he can be,” shortstop John McDonald said.
Can he get any hotter?
"I hope so," manager Kirk Gibson said, smiling. "The first thing was to get him healthy."
Young is the only player in franchise history with three seasons with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases, so the ability is evident. He battled a thumb/wrist injury last season but wanted – and was permitted – to play through it for the extra value provided by his defense and speed.
He is confident these days, but not overly so. Not after last year’s health issues or the prolonged 2009 slump that caused a return to the minor leagues for a brief period less than two years after he became the first rookie in major league history with 30 homers (32) and 25 stolen bases (27) in 2007.
“Baseball will catch you if you get big-headed. I’ve learned that, and I think quite a few guys in baseball have learned that,” Young said.
"You come to the field every day with intentions of doing well. You put your work in. You stay with the same routine. You don’t get too high. You don’t get too low. You try to stay consistent with your mentality, your emotions, your approach. You try to be the same person every day. Whatever the results come, you deal with it."
Gibson has said all spring that the adjustments Young made with his hitting instructor, Sid Holland, have given him more “length” in his swing, meaning the bat stays in the hitting zone longer and enables him to make contact more consistently.
Plus, "he’s not missing mistakes," Gibson said.
Young is not missing much of anything. It's a small sample size, but Young has only five strikeouts in 37 at-bats, a ratio that could improve his career ratio by a noticable margin depending on how long it lasts. He sees himself as being a little better at laying off touch pitches away and a little better at staying in the middle of the field with his approach.
"Pitches away, good pitches from pitchers that I could normally swing (at) and miss in the past, I’m just able to stay on it a little more. Even if it’s off the end of the bat and it’s a base hit off the end of the bat ... singles are what I had trouble getting. Any time you can get a single on a great pitcher's pitch, it’s a win."
Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
