With reporters making their way into the Yankees’ clubhouse on Thursday morning, Trent Grisham reversed roles and asked a question.
The center fielder, unsure whether the day’s matinée began at 1:05 p.m. or 1:35 p.m., wanted to nail down the start time before going about his pregame business. The lack of certainty spoke to Grisham’s laid-back demeanor, which has shown through on and off the field in his two seasons with the Yankees.
“I don’t think Grish knows the word ‘press,’” Aaron Boone quipped earlier this week.
Boone made a similar comment while talking about Grisham following Thursday’s 7-3 win over the Angels, which had a 1:05 p.m. start and snapped a six-game losing streak. Hardly derailed by any previous doubt in the scheduling, the Gold Glove-winning Grisham began the game with a long running catch near the wall in right-center.
Then the left-handed hitter, demoted to ninth in the lineup for the first time since April 11, crushed a longer two-run homer off Tyler Anderson in the second inning. That gave the Yankees, who had been struggling to score prior to Thursday, a 3-2 lead before Paul Goldschmidt went back-to-back with Grisham.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Trent Grisham runs the bases after his second inning two run home run against the Angels at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
“It’s always nice to come through,” Grisham, who also had a double, said before noting Goldschmidt’s homer. “I think it’s just nice when they come in bunches. The more the better.”
Not much had come Grisham’s way in a while.
While Thursday’s dinger was his 14th of the season, he had hit just one over his previous 29 games. Grisham also had a .190/.315/.248 slash line and only six RBI over that stretch.
It was a huge departure from his sensational start, a 34-game stretch that frequently saw Grisham leading off as he hit .288/.373/.663 with 12 home runs and 22 RBI.
“I get asked a lot about Grish after him being over 1.000 OPS, setting the world on fire and then not getting some results,” Boone said. “I still look at his at-bats, and he’s been pretty consistent at-bat-wise, just controlling the strike zone, not getting a ton of results. But I feel like he’s been close there throughout the last few weeks. So for him to break through with the power today, and then add another one by setting the table with the double there to give us an insurance run, really productive there at the bottom today.”
While Grisham had cooled off up until Thursday, he has attributed his improved performance this season to a better mindset.
Earlier this season, he discussed the importance of mental health and noted that he’s sought the help of Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist, and Chad Bohling, the Yankees’ senior director of organizational performance.
“I was thinking like crap for a few years and playing like crap,” said Grisham, who struggled in his last few seasons with the Padres and barely played last year with the Yankees.
On Thursday, Grisham stressed — maybe that’s the wrong word for him — that his chill demeanor requires a “conscious effort.” However, he added that the Yankees’ clubhouse makes it a bit easier for him to stay even-keel, even when his numbers fluctuate.
“This game, over 180 days, will beat you up,” Grisham said. “So that was something that was taught to most all of us when we were young or coming up through the minor leagues. I don’t think you really understand it until you get to this level. But when you get to a team like this with a bunch of veterans around and seeing the way they lead and see the way that they’re consistent day in, day out, it rubs off on guys.”
