Gamel's Bat Cooled With Sporadic Play
Date Posted: 10/29/2009

by Tom Haudricourt, Baseball America

MILWAUKEE—Usually, when a top prospect is called to the big leagues, it's a good thing.

For Mat Gamel, it fell a bit short of that.

When the Brewers summoned the sweet-swinging third baseman in mid-May, he was batting .336/.428/.647 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 33 games with Triple-A Nashville. The 24-year-old Gamel was to get his feet wet as the DH in interleague road games.

Because of an unproductive bench, the Brewers decided to keep Gamel around longer than expected. Rookie Casey McGehee emerged as the regular third baseman, however, relegating Gamel to mostly pinch-hitting duties.

Unaccustomed to sporadic play, Gamel batted .242/.338/.422 in 128 big league at-bats. He didn't rediscover his stroke after he was sent back to Nashville, either, batting just .234/.316/.338 in 42 second-half games.

"I lost my stroke, for sure," Gamel said. "Then I started trying to force things to happen. It doesn't work that way. You can't go up there putting more pressure on yourself. I was doing that.

"I thought I would play more (in Milwaukee), but I didn't really capitalize on my opportunities. I can't blame anybody but myself. There was no reason to put me in there (more often)."

Gamel never got the hang of pinch-hitting, collecting three hits in 20 at-bats.

"When I'm not going good, I strike out," he said. "I was doing some things wrong at the plate. I tried to work hard to get that back when I went back to Nashville.

"It's the first season I had like this. There was a lot of positive, a lot of negative. I learned what I need to do to stay (in the big leagues).

"It's probably the best defensive season I've had (.910 fielding percentage with Nashville). That's good. But probably the worst offensive season I've had. It started out really good, but that's the way the game is.

"Sometimes, you have an off year."

In an effort to recoup some of the at-bats he lost while languishing on the bench, Gamel was slated to play winter ball in Venezuela.

Related Links:
 • Mat Gamel Statistics