After a struggling 2009 season Gregory Halman receives special treatment from the Seattle Mariners organization. In September he took part in their instructional league program in Peoria, Arizona for two-plus weeks. The Daily Herald in Everett, Washington reported that additionally Roger Hansen, the Mariners’ minor league catching instructor, flew all the way to Amsterdam, Netherlands to talk with Halman and his family about the future of the 22-year-old outfielder.
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“They want the truth. They don’t just want to be told, ‘You’re going to be great, you’re going to be this.’ They wanted to know exactly what is the next step to take, where he is headed and what he needs to do on and off the field. That’s pretty much it.”
Halman’s rise to the big leagues hit a speed bump in 2009. After being named the Mariners’ 2008 Minor League Player of the Year in the winter, he first struggled during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and later with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx of the Southern League (Double-A). He batted only .210 (OBP .278/SLG .420) with 25 homeruns, 64 runs scored and 72 RBIs in 121 games.
But while his production might was good enough to stay in the lineup every day, his strikeout rates were far too high. Halman struck out 183 times in 457 at-bats at Double-A. Hansen, who already worked with the potential five-tool player during the summer, hopes that the two weeks in Peoria were a first step to a better future. He is scheduled to come back to the training facilities well before Spring Training and getting a head start to the 2010 season.