Mark Wagner Shrugs off Disappointing 2008 Season

Wagner - TJ Perrini

Catcher Mark Wagner could have done a verbal tap dance and made numerous excuses for his drop-off at the plate last season with the Portland Sea Dogs.

But as he prepared to report to spring training this year in Fort Myers, the chances of that happening were slim and none, and Slim already had left for Texas.

"There was one point where I was leading the team in batting average ... I was hitting .353 early on with a decent amount of at-bats," recalled Wagner, who was promoted from the Sea Dogs to Pawtucket on Jun. 28. "It was like, 'Man, I'm hitting great. I just can roll out of bed and hit.'

"Slowly, over time, I fell a little bit but I was still hitting .330. Then, I was hitting .310. I started to notice I was spiraling (downward). It was a surprise (rude?) awakening where I kind of got away from my routine a little bit.

"That was total 100 percent blame on me," continued Wagner. "It was just a lack of mental toughness on my part where I let my routine slide. Then, all of a sudden, I tried to do too much. I tried to sprint to catch up, to get back on top. It was one of those things where you can't just all of a sudden pick up and go again."

Just how much did Wagner spiral?

His average plummeted to .219 and both his slugging percentage (.363) and on-base percentage (.304) were mediocre at best.

Those stats were a far cry from the ones Wagner racked up after he was picked in the ninth round of the 2005 draft by Boston.

In 2006, for example, he hit .301 in 96 games with Greenville. And, in 2007 at Lancaster, he hit .318 with 14 home runs and 82 RBI in 95 games.

Moreover, he developed into Boston's best defensive catching prospect according to Baseball America.

Among other things, he led all Double-A catchers with a .997 fielding percentage and ranked second in the Eastern League in throwing out 42 percent of attempted base stealers.

"Looking back on (2008), it was a heck of a learning experience for me," admitted Wagner, who was hitting .301 with 18 doubles, three home runs, 23 RBI, and a .410 on-base percentage in 42 games with Portland. "That's what I really learned last year in Portland ... how to stick with the process and how to stay within yourself and that, when you start to slump, you can't get it all back in one game.

"I felt there were times when I hit the ball quite well and didn't get the result, which is when I tried even more."

Fortunately for Wagner, the organization sent him to the Arizona Fall League. Even though he only played in 18 games for Scottsdale, his stats were a quantum improvement over the ones he posted with Portland.

Wagner hit .288 with four home runs and eight RBI.

"I had a great opportunity to go out to the Arizona Fall League where you see some of the best prospects and I did very well," he said. "I talked with some of their hitting coaches, like Dave Joppie and Victor Rodriguez. They helped me reassure myself. They would say 'You know you're a good hitter. Go out and do what you've done and you're going to be just fine.'"

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