James Rowson doesn't want the Twins moving forward without looking back.
So the team's hitting coach gathered players during spring training and showed them a highlight film from 2017. Good at-bats. Clutch hits. The video was made with Rick Ross' "Hustlin' " thumping in the background as the Twins enjoyed memories of a robust offense during the second half of last season.
"We talked about the positives," Rowson said. "For me, it is building and moving forward. It is not forgetting the things we did to get to this point."
The Twins offense was unspectacular for two-thirds of the season but surged during the final third. With Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario playing key roles, the Twins averaged 6.1 runs a game over their final 54 games after averaging 4.5 runs over their first 108. Their on-base-plus-slugging percentage was .730 through the first 108 games, .848 after it.
Brian Dozier hit .304 with 21 home runs over the final 71 games of the regular season. Joe Mauer batted .305 with a .384 on-base percentage. But what put the Twins over the top last year was the production of their developing hitters.
"They turned a corner," Dozier said. "They turned the page with a lot of things within the game, learning to be a true professional, sticking to the same things that benefits you."
Rosario, Rowson said, was the best example of such professional development. The 26-year-old left fielder hit .290 last season — .298 over the final 54 games — by developing a routine that fit him. He lowered his strikeout rate from 25.7 percent in 2016 to 18 percent last season.
"He's really learning as he goes on," Rowson said. "He's maturing as a hitter and understanding of what he wants to see, what the opposing pitcher does, how to watch video correctly."
