The Rockaway Wave
Originally published June 6, 2023
On May 5, with a 1-0 count and two outs in the fourth inning, Chase Estep hit a two-run home run. The ball was hit 108 mph off the bat and went 409 feet out to right field of Maimonides Park in Brooklyn. It cut the Aberdeen IronBirds’ lead to 9-3 in a game the Cyclones would eventually lose by almost the same score.
In the context of the game, it might not have moved the needle too much. In the context of Estep’s season though, it kickstarted what would be a complete turnaround from his first month to his second.
“I think from there it was kind of just repeating that swing that felt good, and now I’m more comfortable in the box,” Estep said. “… Once you get the first one, they say, they kind of come in bunches, so I’m hoping I can continue that.”
Estep said when he came back into the dugout after the home run, Cyclones hitting coach Richie Benes told him that it was the start of a new month. It was a reset of sorts for the infielder, one that was much needed after the start to the season he endured.
In 11 games and 40 at-bats in April, Estep hit .050/.174/.100. He had two hits, both doubles, and six walks — one of which gave the Cyclones a walk-off win in extra innings on opening day.
“I think it’s just kind of a testament to baseball,” Estep said. “Mindset hasn’t changed too much, I was hitting balls hard and just wasn’t getting the luck I may have wanted. I think it’s just kind of evening out, law averages says at some point they’ll get a few to fall.”
Estep credits the adjustments made with the help of Benes and the coaching staff — and a little bit of luck — as what got him through the slump.
Some were swing adjustments, like a little bit of extra movement before the swing that Benes said they got squared away. There were also adjustments to his approach, with Estep saying he has been a bit more aggressive at the plate.
Other adjustments were more mental, Benes said, telling him to trust the process and the results will come.
“There were times where his routine wasn’t there, and he’d get frustrated,” Benes said. “Then the routine was there, and in BP he still wasn’t hitting well. And then when he started hitting well in
BP, it still wasn’t translating into the game. And it was just like, don’t worry, you’re gonna get there. And he’s there now, so hopefully he stays there.”
When it comes to coaching, the mental side of the game is one of the most important parts of the job. Cyclones manager Chris Newell emphasizes that.
“We’re not just coaches, we’re psychologists, and it’s our job to keep these guys confident and keep them engaged,” Newell said. “To me, as a former player, there was nothing better in the world, for my confidence and my psyche, than knowing that my coach or my manager had the utmost belief in me, even when I didn’t. It still helped me start to believe in myself. And that’s our job, we’ve got to keep these guys confident.”
Benes said it was hard at times to watch Estep go through the struggles he had because he knows how hard he works, but on the flip side it has been fun to watch him overcome them.
“He’s got great energy, so to see that energy kind of get deflated because of the results that he’s not seeing was tough,” Benes said. “So it’s good to see him now, we’re always playful with each other and stuff like that, and joking around. And always working hard, which is good.”
In May, Estep was nothing short of the best hitter on the team. That’s not hyperbole either, he actually had the highest OPS on the team in the month of May.
In 20 games in the month, Estep hit .280/.342/.478, good for a .820 OPS, with one home run and nine extra-base hits.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Estep said. “There’s a lot of good players around me that people have to worry about, so that kind of opens up more opportunities for me. … Everybody on our team has a chance to break out at any point, and I’m on a team with a bunch of really good players. I’m happy to just be in the lineup and to be contributing.”
Estep is contributing at three different positions for the Cyclones this season, playing 11 games at third base, 10 games at first base and 7 games at second base. It’s something that he said he loves, moving around and being a Swiss Army knife in the infield.
It’s a bit of a departure from what he did in college at the University of Kentucky. While primarily a third baseman, he moved around some his freshman and sophomore year, playing a lot of second base as well. However, his junior year, which was also his final year, he was exclusively at the hot corner.
He only had one game at first base in his collegiate career, which came in his sophomore year. He’s been asked to learn that position this year, which he said has given him a deeper appreciation for his former first basemen.
“I had a bunch of really good first basemen that I threw to, and I think I appreciate them more now for all the balls they picked, and all the plays that they make that aren’t normal baseball plays but never will get recognized unless you really know,” Estep said.
A Corbin, Kentucky native, Estep went to play for the Wildcats, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle. He, by his own admission, started off slow his first few years.
In 40 games his sophomore year, Estep hit .252/.286/.329, which works out to just a .614 OPS. He finished the year without hitting a home run and just 10 extra-base hits in total.
Then, something clicked.
“After sophomore year, I kind of sat down and didn’t have the year I wanted,” Estep said. “Just kind of realized, if I wanted to be any better, it was just going to be hard work. I’m not the biggest kid, I’m not the strongest kid, I’m not the fastest, but I just know that hard work pays off for everybody that’s willing to put it in over time.”
He said Kentucky had a few coaching changes that helped him develop more, and he stepped into a leadership role his junior year that also helped him change his mindset.
In his junior year, he took off.
Over 59 games, Estep hit .302/.416/.560, good for a .976 OPS. He smacked 13 home runs and 17 doubles, both of which led the team. He also led the team in hits, runs batted in, runs socred and total bases, and won three different player of the week honors throughout the season.
Following this breakout season, the Mets selected Estep in the 9th round of the 2022 MLB draft. It’s an opportunity, Estep said, that not many people from his area receive, and that’s something he recognizes.
“God’s blessed me in ways that I’ll never be able to understand,” Estep said. “I just hope I can use that platform to take all the information I’ve learned, and all the playing, and take it home, and maybe there’s another kid from Corbin playing for the Mets at some point. … I can take that opportunity and expand the baseball knowledge where I’m from and teach a lot of kids things they may not hear at home.”
Being from a small town, and the support he has received from his community, is one of the things that keeps him going. He said people check in with him every day, whether it be family members or people he hasn’t heard from in a while. Some people might consider that pressure, he said, but for him, it’s another driving force that tells him everything is going ot be alright.
For now, though, the kid from Corbin, Kentucky, is taking it all in. He’s trying new foods (a big fan of empanadas), taking in new cultures he wouldn’t normally see, and appreciating and enjoying his opportunity.
“At the beginning of the year I struggled, but I’m still in a really beautiful city playing the best game on earth,” Estep said. “So when you really look at it, failure, success, isn’t a really good determining factor of the opportunity I have, so I try not to get engulfed in it too much.”
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