Baker understands Harper's extra work to break out of slump

Dusty Baker knows what it's like to endure a slump and knows the tricks for trying to snap out of a prolonged slide at the plate. So the Nationals manager knows what must be going through Bryce Harper's mind right now, and he understands what the struggling right fielder is trying to do to get himself back on track.

When Harper went to the cage underneath the stands at Nationals Park following last night's loss to the Mets, still in full uniform with batting gloves and bat in hand, Baker could relate.

"Heck, I used to hit after the game sometimes," the former Dodgers outfielder said. "In the cage. Sometimes I might even put my sweats on, don't take a shower and then go to a place called Buddy's Bat-a-Way in Van Nuys. ... I'd go there and I'd feel much better before I went home. And I wouldn't snap at my wife, because you hit until you're frustrated. You're frustration hitting. That's what it's all about."

Though Harper wouldn't directly comment on his postgame round of batting practice, the 23-year-old's frustration level is fairly clear. He's hitting .185 over his last 25 games, a stretch during which he still has posted a .450 on-base percentage thanks to 35 walks but has produced only three extra-base hits.

"I just need to stay through the baseball," he said. "That's pretty much it."

Harper was back at it this afternoon, emerging on the field at Nationals Park around 2:30 p.m. for a round of solo, early batting practice. That's a rarity for a guy who for much of the last year has hardly ever taken regular BP on the field, choosing instead to stay in the cage and work on specific mechanics.

In this case, Harper took swings off a pitching machine, taking a good amount of time between each swing, going through his full pre-pitch routine in the batter's box. The results probably don't matter a lick, but for what it's worth, he peppered the bleachers with balls, clearing the fence on nearly every other pitch during one stretch.

Based on his preferred method of extra batting practice, Baker had to like Harper's approach to this session against a pitching machine throwing well below normal game speed.

"I'd never go in the fastest machine, because you're not getting any work," the manager said. "I tell kids now: 'Don't go to the fast machine, because that's just an ego thing, that you're timing the machine. You have to go where you can get work and hit that way and this way.' Hey man, that's how you're gonna get it. And that's how Bryce is gonna get it. It's how everybody else in baseball gets it. You've got to work."

Harper's work ethic has never come into question. His postgame routine last night and afternoon routine today underscores that.

"You don't get that good by not working," Baker said. "Everybody says you're a natural hitter. No, you're not. You've got to work at it. Now, some of it's natural. But it becomes more natural the more work that you do."