Redshirt junior shortstop Kevin Kramer has charged ground balls and thrown out baserunners at first base with fluidity. He’s precisely predicted the trajectory of a foul ball down the left-field line, sprinting and diving for the catch between two other UCLA defenders who couldn’t get there in time. And at the plate, he’s led the Bruins in five of the most important offensive categories: on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, runs and total bases.
Watching Kramer play shortstop for UCLA this season, it would be hard to tell that he’s still rehabilitating an injury.
“I’m going through rehab right now; I’m still trying to get stronger and better,” he said.
Kramer didn’t play a single game last season. He couldn’t, as he tore his labrum before the season, an injury that required him to undergo what he said was the first surgery of his life.
“I think it was more of a mental challenge than anything,” Kramer said. “I think it was a negative last year, but I think I turned it into a positive this year. It’s kind of a learning experience – that’s what you’ve gotta chalk it up to.”
While Kramer had to sit out and slowly rehabilitate, he didn’t stop practicing baseball. He focused on some of the mental aspects of the game, studying other players and their playing styles.
“(In) my first two years here, I wasn’t great at hitting a fastball in, so I watched guys and I watched how they would do it,” Kramer said.
On the defensive side, he’d study UCLA middle infielder Trent Chatterton, who started at shortstop in 2014 while Kramer sat out.
“Chatty’s a great defender and I watched him a ton last year,” Kramer said. “I got to learn from him; I talked a lot with him.”
Kramer said there would be games when he’d meet up with Chatterton in the infield beforehand, discussing things such as how to field certain ground ball hops.
When Kramer went out on the field against Oregon State last weekend, he showed a bit of that learning. In the fourth inning, a Beaver batter hit a high-chopping ground ball on the infield. At first glance, it looked as if Kramer would need to make a barehand pickup to be able to throw out the runner in time. But Kramer had the presence of mind to know the timing of things, as he used his glove and still got the OSU baserunner by half a step.
The play appeared to be precise and measured, but Kramer said the key to his play this year is that he has not been thinking too much. For as much as he studied and worked on the mental aspects of his game in 2014, he’s just allowed his body to go to work on the field in 2015.
“I think one thing for me is that I’m letting myself play and I’m letting my body take over and I’m not worrying how I’m doing,” Kramer said. “(I’m) appreciative to be back out there on the field. … It’s like ‘Well I’m happy to really be back out here,’ and I’m not gonna worry about my stats.'”
While Kramer hasn’t worried about his stats, some others can’t help but acknowledge them – the .387 batting average, the .482 on-base percentage, the .588 slugging percentage. Coach John Savage is one of those people.
“He’s an exceptional player,” said Savage. “I think he can play with anybody, I really do, and I think he’s proven that over the first 28, 29 games.”
Mutual benefit
Last year, with Kramer sidelined, Chatterton gained additional experience not only at the shortstop position in the field, but at the plate as well. Savage pointed to that additional experience as a reason for why Chatterton has been able to step up in key situations this year – such as his walk-off sacrifice fly against Washington on March 15 and his go-ahead RBI single against Oregon State Saturday.
“Chatterton’s a tough out – we know that,” Savage said. “He’s seen a lot of pitches over the past two years and (his at-bat versus Oregon State) showed the experience that he got when Kevin was out all season last year.”
In each of Chatterton’s lead-changing at-bats against Washington and Oregon State, the junior middle infielder battled back from being down 0-2 in the count.
“I think when it gets to two strikes, I just try to get short and just try to put the bat on the ball and let the ball kind of do its thing,” Chatterton said.