Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins also worked extensively to mentally prepare the lineup before the matchup, noting that pressure often accumulates when players find themselves in tense situations.
"Protective states, stressed states," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins compared the team's defensive approach at the plate during their recent slump to a boxer who focuses exclusively on blocking incoming attacks.
"Similar to a fighter that is trying to defend eight different punches at once and just trying to react versus just throw a haymaker and see what happens, get a punch off," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
He noted that baseball can exert immense psychological pressure on athletes until they refuse to continue fighting back.
"This game will have a grip on your throat, it will hold you down until you quit," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins reiterated that continuous determination remains essential for the roster to overcome prolonged hitting slumps.
"But you've got to keep fighting," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
According to Popkins, establishing an elite offense requires maintaining two distinct psychological advantages over opposing pitching staffs.
"One is scaring teams out of the zone and the second one is scaring teams into the zone," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
He expanded on how proper plate discipline forces pitchers to throw more predictable pitches within strike zones.
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"You scare them out of the zone by punishing them and then you scare them back into the zone by having an approach and making sure you're not swinging at borderline pitches," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
