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On Aug. 28 of final season, San Diego Padres outfielder Trent Grisham hit a screaming line drive towards right-center discipline. Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, in a shift behind second base, sprinted towards the hole, leaped and pulled the ball down.
“When he jumped and made that catch, he appeared like an Air Jordan poster,” Bobby Stroupe stated.
For Stroupe, the founder and president of Athletic Efficiency Enhancement Facilities (APEC) in Fort Price and Tyler, Texas, that second was merely affirmation of one thing he already knew — that Story is among the finest all-around athletes in Main League Baseball.
“He’s a dude,” Stroupe stated, going as far as the say that the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Story shares the identical measurement, weight, energy and explosiveness as NFL working again Adrian Peterson.
Some prime examples of Story’s athletic prowess:
* Story’s standing vertical bounce has elevated to 37.6 inches, which might rank within the high 10 on the NFL mix for working backs and large receivers. According to NFL.savant, the common working again’s vertical is 35.1 inches and the common for large receivers is 35.8.
* His step-to-vertical leap of 41.8 inches would rank within the high 5% of an NBA mix, in response to Stroupe.
* His dash velocity has been clocked at 21.8 mph.
After which there’s Story’s bat velocity and energy. On Sept. 5, 2018, Story hit three home runs in opposition to San Francisco at Coors Subject, together with a 505-foot blast that formally ranks because the longest within the ballpark’s historical past. The record-setting house run had an exit velocity of 111.9 mph.
Put all of that athleticism collectively and Stoupe firmly believes Story has what it takes to hit 40 house runs and steal 40 bases in a season. How uncommon an accomplishment would that be? It’s solely been achieved 4 instances in main league historical past and it hasn’t occurred since Alfonso Soriano hit 46 homers and stole 41 bases for the 2006 Washington Nationals.
“Trevor has some very distinctive bodily traits that may make that doable for him,” Stoupe stated. “His working velocity, acceleration and rotational energy are particular. You mix that along with his acumen in baseball, alongside along with his psychological {and professional} make-up, and 40-40 is a practical objective for him.”
Story hasn’t set the bar that top, at the least not publicly, however he does have a fairly lofty objective. On the primary day of spring coaching, he stated he wished to develop into a 30-30 man. The final Rockies participant to do this was Corridor of Famer outfielder Larry Walker in his 1997 MVP season when he mashed 49 homers and swiped 33 bases.
Final season, Story led the Nationwide League with 15 stolen bases and hit 11 house runs, placing him on tempo for 41 stolen bases and 30 house runs. He practically joined the 30-30 membership in 2018 (37 homers, 27 stolen bases) and ’19 (35, 23).
“I felt like I used to be on a great tempo final 12 months,” Story stated of the pandemic-shortened 60-game season. “Clearly, we didn’t play sufficient video games, but it surely’s at all times been on my radar to hit 30 and steal 30.”
Stroupe’s lengthy listing of purchasers at APEC contains greater than 60 energetic NFL gamers, together with Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Tremendous Bowl LIV champion and 2018 MVP who has labored with Stroupe because the fourth grade. APEC’S MLB purchasers embrace Tampa Bay right-hander Michael Wacha, San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt and Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard.
Story and Stroup first met in 2017, and Story started coaching at APEC in Fort Price in 2019. The objective was to optimize Story’s pure athleticism, making him sooner, faster, stronger and extra highly effective, all tailor-made towards making Story a greater baseball participant.
Story educated 5 days per week, amounting to 12-14 hours of labor.
Stroupe will not be a baseball coach, so he doesn’t essentially concentrate on swing mechanics or fielding. Somewhat, Stroupe, a registered energy and conditioning coach with the Nationwide Power and Conditioning Affiliation, works on instructing athletes find out how to transfer extra effectively and find out how to flip energy into velocity and energy.
Story wrapped his arms round Stroupe’s ideas, and it’s paying off.
“My confidence comes from my preparation, so it’s not one thing I take into consideration throughout video games,” Story stated. “It’s one thing I take into consideration within the (batting) cage or one thing I work on throughout the offseason or spring coaching.
“I’m making an attempt to make every part as environment friendly as I can. Again house in Texas, at APEX, I practiced quite a bit on first-step quickness and mechanics. I don’t need any false strikes there.”
That not solely helps him on the basepaths but in addition within the infield. Story’s patented play — during which bolts to his left, scoops up a groundball close to second base, does a 360-degree pirouette and fires a strike to first base — doesn’t come by happenstance.
Story, nevertheless, dedicated 10 errors in 57 video games at brief final 12 months and was not pleased along with his career-low .961 fielding proportion — a quantity which may have price him a shot at his first Gold Glove. Certainly one of his targets at APEC was to repair his footwork to eradicate off-target throws.
To that finish, Story huddled with Stroupe and Brandon Sherard — Story’s hitting-and-infield coach, confidant and shut buddy for greater than a decade.
“The three of us obtained collectively and we went again and checked out some issues,” Stroupe stated. “We carried out a number of the similar issues I did with Patrick (Mahomes). We labored on movement throws.
“You don’t need this fluid, explosive higher physique after which have your ft appear to be they’re disconnected. When the ball sailed on Trevor final 12 months, what it appeared like, to me, was robotic ft and a fluid higher physique.”
By the point spring coaching arrived, Story’s arm and ft have been working in live performance.
The 2-time all-star shortstop is scheduled to develop into a free agent after this season, so he’s in line for a considerable jackpot. However he’ll additionally possible need to compete with Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and Javy Baez as a part of a glittering class of pending free-agent shortstops.
Earlier this 12 months, the MLB Community aired the “Prime 10 Gamers Proper Now” for every place and Story checked in at No. 1, forward of Boston’s Xander Bogaerts, Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., who signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension this spring.
“That felt good,” Story stated of his being topped as the sport’s high shortstop. “However I’ve by no means been motivated by something aside from myself or my very own ideas. I actually attempt to make it about myself and the way I can enhance my recreation every year.”
For Story, meaning spending his offseason taking his physique to the best degree doable.
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