Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich is enjoying a resurgence 2023 season. The former 2018 MVP and two-time batting champion currently has a .287/.373/.458 slash line with a 127 OPS+. A swing change in early May helped spark success at the plate and as a result his confidence has grown.
In a recent interview with The Athletic he sat down more to discuss his success this season. A few things highlighted included his success against fastballs this year, not trying to do too much, and one thing that he does after every at-bat.
After every at-bat Christian Yelich has a conversation with Milwaukee Brewers co-hitting coach Connor Dawson (MLB News).
Connor Dawson joined the Brewers after the 2021 season when the team elected to part ways with Andy Haines. Prior to joining the Brew Crew he was the Seattle Mariners minor league hitting coordinator. At the time he was one of two hitting coaches hired in which he splits duties with Ozzie Timmons.
Shortly after his hire the baseball world shut down and both Connor Dawson and Ozzie Timmons were unable to contact players. In Christian Yelich’s first season with this duo he showed glimpses of breaking out, but ultimately was unable to slug over .400 for the second consecutive season.
This year Yelich is hitting the ball into the gap more often, driving the baseball to the opposite field with power, and he has hit over 15 home runs for the first time since 2019. Aside from the mechanical swing changes and mental confidence boost one thing that he does is chat with Connor Dawson after every at-bat.
Sometimes, the conversation is drawn out. They’ll analyze everything. Sometimes, it’s far more simple. “Good Swing” or “Bad swing.”. No need to dwell on what happened, but important to at least acknowledge it.
Christian Yelich has logged over 500 plate appearances this year and will likely finish the season with around 650. It is quite impressive that both him and Connor Dawson have communicated in a manner that works for them after every single at-bat. Hopefully the results continue to be positive for Yelich. His production at the top of the lineup will be a major factor as to how far the Brewers go this season.
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