The Mattingly Baseball Beast of the Month is an award that is given to one of the top hitters in the country. The award is presented by Mattingly Baseball and in association with Baseball Factory and Team One Baseball. The player is selected by a panel of Baseball Factory and Team One coaches and scouts.

This month’s recipient earned this prestigious award based on his performance at the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament held in Tucson, Arizona. Spencer Sarel from Brighton, Michigan was selected after going 4 for 7 at the plate, with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI’s. When Spencer found out that he was going to receive this award he was “really excited, and thought that he did well [at the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament], and that all of his off season hard work had paid off.” When I asked him if his performance at the event was indicative of how he normally performs, Spencer said “I usually perform that well…I went to the plate and had fun.”

Spencer a right handed hitter said that he has been working hard with Coach James Bonnici, a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, on his hitting. Sarel told me that “I [Sarel] am a line drive hitter…I worked on hitting to the right side of the field and to right center.” Sarel compared his swing and style at the plate to the batting style of Alex Rodriguez. Spencer said, “I have a smaller stride and am not as much of a long ball hitter,” in comparison to Rodriguez.  Spencer attributes a lot of his success at the plate to Coach Bonnici, but he also recognizes his dad in helping him become a good hitter. Sarel has a batting cage on the side of his house where he and his father practice hitting. They also film Spencer taking swings and use three different angles to analyze Spencer’s swing. It takes that kind of determination to become a top hitter.

Spencer was selected as a Mattingly Baseball Beast of the Month because Spencer emulated what Mattingly Baseball and Baseball Factory believe great hitters do. Mattingly Baseball’s V-Grip bats are designed to help players become great hitters, like Spencer, by helping them keep the knocker knuckles aligned and shift the bat away from the palm and into the fingers; thus, correctly “power-loading” a batters energy and forcing the batters grip to be in perfect alignment every time you hit the ball.

As I spoke with Spencer we talked about what it takes to become a good hitter and he mentioned two keys. One was to take as many swings as possible and to simply have repetition after repetition at the plate or practice tee. The other key he mentioned was routine. He said that it was very important that a hitter keeps a good rhythm and routine. Spencer told me that every time he has an at bat he does the same routine. When Spencer gets up to bat he undoes his batting gloves then re-tightens them, then he adjusts his uniform so he is comfortable, then he takes a few swings with a doughnut on. Then when it comes time to get into the batters box he wipes away all the other cleat marks, and finally he wipes down the barrel of his bat. This may all seem like a lengthy process, but it is something that Spencer thinks is very important in maintaining routine.

Apparently this routine works, based on his outstanding performance at the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament. Jim Gemler Director of On-Field Sessions for the Baseball Factory, who scouted Spencer, said of Spencer’s performance “Spencer is that gamer type. He consistently showed the ability to come up big for his club throughout the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament.  He is the guy that will not ?wow’ you in the workout setting, but he gets it done between the lines when it matters most.”

Spencer, only a junior, is currently playing on his high school team and plans on competing in showcases this summer, including the Team One Midwest showcase on July 31, 2007. Mattingly Baseball and Baseball Factory look forward to see how Spencer continues to perform at the plate in the future. We wish Spencer luck in all his future endeavors and congratulate him on his selection as the Mattingly Baseball Beast of the Month.

For more information on Mattingly Baseball and the Beast baseball bat visit www.mattinglybaseball.com.