Baseball is a game built on failure.
But in Lincoln Saltdogs hitting coach Kash Beauchamp's eyes, failing 70% of the time is a Hall of Fame career.
“I told my hitters early in the season to look at your at-bats in segments of 20,†Beauchamp said. “If you go 6-for-20 you're hitting .300. That allows you to fail 14 times in those 20 at-bats. You have to allow yourself to fail in this game. The greatest hitters in the world, if you hit .300 in the big leagues, there is a good chance you're going to be in the Hall of Fame – that's failing 70% of the time. It's not how you start either, it's how you finish.â€
Beauchamp rejoins the Saltdogs after being the Lincoln manager in the franchise's inauguration in 2001 before moving on to the Adirondack Lumberjacks of the Northern League.
The now hitting coach, after retiring from a manager position where he led the Odgen Raptors to the 2023 Pioneer League Championship, Beauchamp is viewing the game from personal experiences and a more relaxed approach.
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“I've been a hitting coach with Rick Forney in Winnipeg (Goldeyes) in the past,†Beauchamp said. “There is really not a lot I haven't done in the game in the last 42 years, or 43, however many it is now.
"As a hitting coach, you have to have in the back of your mind don't ever forget what it was like to be a manager. I'm there for (Lincoln manager) Brett (Jodie) and I'm there for these players if they need me. “I told the guys (Monday), I've played for 12 years and I've been beaten up every way the game can beat you up as a hitter. I've been there before. Everything I teach you is overcoming failure. I had a year in this league, when it was the Northern League, everything clicked. I was 29 and I kind of teach from that. It took me six years to hit in a lot of failure to figure some stuff out. I just try to share with these guys when they want it and when they need it.â€
Lincoln is currently batting .241 as a team through 16 games.
Aaron Takacs and Jack Dragum lead the Saltdogs with a .340 batting average, while fan favorites Nick Anderson and Luke Roskam have scuffled early on. Anderson, who hit 20 home runs and hit .276 in 2023, is batting .171 to start the new campaign, while Roskam is hitting .152. Roskam had the longest on-base streak in the American Association last season.
“They're kind of scuffling through a little bit. I've never seen them before and I wish I could have seen them last year to have a little comparison,†Beauchamp said. “Luke and Anderson, they've gotten off to the start that I got off to in the first 3-years of my career. I really put a lot of pressure on myself . … It's almost a blessing and it's almost a curse. As a first-overall pick, you feel like you have to lead the league in every category. That's a lot of pressure, these guys are coming back with really no veterans on our team. Those two guys are the two alpha dogs of our team. … I haven't seen anything that these guys have forgotten to hit. Timing, rhythm – they're both trying to find it.
Holmberg returns to Haymarket: David Holmberg, a regular in the Lincoln Saltdogs starting rotation in 2023, returns to the game in a new light. Holmberg is now the Kane County pitching coach. Lincoln and Kane County start a three-game series on Monday.
Heartbreakers: Lincoln, 6-10 overall, went 1-2 against the American Association's West-leading Kansas City. After winning game one of the series, Lincoln went on to lead 15 of the final 19 innings of the series before dropping the final two games to the Monarchs.
On Monday ...Â
What happened: Lincoln 10, Kane County 6.
What went right: All 10 Lincoln runs came from the fifth inning on a two-run Nick Anderson blast in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Saltdogs the lead for good at Haymarket Park.
Anderson's blast, his third of the season, put Lincoln up 8-6. Luke Roskam hit an RBI double prior to Anderson as the Saltdogs scored three times in the inning.
The Saltdogs also took advantage with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to get back into the fight.
What went wrong: Kane County scored five runs through five innings, including a three-run burst against Saltdog starter Zach Keenan. Keenan with five innings, allowing eight hits, five runs and walked two in the outing.
Despite nine hits on the night, the Cougars limited the Lincoln bats early to just four hits through the middle portion of the game.
What's next: Kane County and Lincoln continue the series Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Haymarket Park.