Can Michael Anthony add “slumpbuster” to his impressive resume? Perhaps, if you believe the following tale told by the Arizona Republic’s Jim Gintonio (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory).
Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder made a command decision before Friday night’s game that the best way for Eric Byrnes to break out of a hitting slump was to change the music that plays when he walks to the plate.
And it worked – even though Byrnes had no idea that he’d be hearing Van Halen, his choice last season, and not the Outfield (above). He broke a 6-for-63 slide as he homered and singled, driving in two runs and scoring twice in a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.
“Snyder changed my music,” he said. “I was upset. I figured they changed it up top (in the press box), and I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Whether or not I’m getting hits has nothing to do with my music.
“And I like hearing the Outfield, and even though I wasn’t getting hits, it was nice hearing the Outfield. Now Snyder’s not gonna let me change it back. . . . No one was complaining about the Outfield when I was having a 14-game hitting streak, so I think it’s more of a joke.”
Byrnes said extra work in the batting cage with hitting coach Rick Schu and watching video helped him a lot, adding, “The music I can’t really say, but Snyder got a good laugh out of it.”