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Live Chat With Former MLB Outfielder Chad Hermansen
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Jorge78
9:58
Hi Chad thank you so much for chatting!  Your Wikipedia page says when you were traded to the Cubs on July 31st 2002 you decided to retire but you played some games with the Cubs that season.  Did you change your mind?  Is the Wikipedia page wrong?  If it'strue is there a story behind that?  I apologize if it's too personal.  Thank you!
Chad Hermansen
9:59
Hello Jorge, yeah it looks like that is wrong on Wikipedia.  I was traded to the Cubs on that date and continued playing until 2009.
Jorge78
9:59
Chad, you hit very well in the minors until the Pirates called you up at age 21, then not so well.  Did the Pirates call you up too soon?  Was it injuries?  Did the Pirates put too much pressure on you?  Thank you!
Chad Hermansen
10:03
There are many factors here.  One thing I have been somewhat silent about was my hitting coach my second day in the big leagues didn't like my approach and how I was attacking the ball.  I before had a more upper cut type swing and he told me to change that in AAA. My 2nd year in AAA I worked really hard on getting down and through the ball thinking more "down and through" which in tee work and soft toss look steep.  That approach got me 32 homers my 2nd year in AAA and my 2nd day in the big leagues working the hitting coach he didn't like my steepness to the ball and said "you can't hit like that here" got me swinging more up at the ball again and I was never the same.  Really messed with me mentally.
MLBTR Fan
10:03
What was the most challenging aspect of translating highly touted prospect skills to the majors?
Chad Hermansen
10:05
baseball is all about being consistent and is what makes hitting so hard.  When you struggle its  amplified all over the country and everyone knows you're struggling.  It's also what makes the game so challenging because when you are on there is nothing like it.
Big Z
10:05
What was it like sharing a clubhouse with Sammy Sosa for a few months?
Chad Hermansen
10:07
Big Z, I was in Chicago for two months and Sosa was a Rock Star!  He treated me great.  There were some mixed feelings about him that I certainly noticed.  He had his own coach that followed him around everywhere, would flip to him in the cage, throw him BP.  He had his own music that he would play loud as well, some didn't like that so much! haha
MLBTR Fan
10:07
What stands out to you about your brief time with the Cubs?
Chad Hermansen
10:08
I couldn't believe how many Cubs fans there are.  It really showed when we would go on the road.  I was a Cubs fan growing up so I was very excited to come over to Chicago.  Playing at Wrigley Field is special.  I hit my first home run there and played well there as a Pirates, that must be why they traded for me.
Tstats
10:09
You played in the era immediately following the steroid boom, what was that like being one of the first generations to deal with PED testing?
Chad Hermansen
10:10
I was pretty oblivious to the steroid thing until I started to see a pattern of guys showing up 20-25 lbs bigger than they were just a few months ago.  Looking back it's somewhat of a tough pill to swallow that I was competing with guys for a roster spot that were using, some very obvious and some not so much.
Nate
10:10
Hi Chad! What's your favorite stadium to play in?
Chad Hermansen
10:11
I loved PNC and Wrigley Field.  Wrigley's playing surface was actually pretty poor in the late 90's early 2000's but I think they have improved it drastically.  Really thought they all have their special place.
Ryan
10:12
Hey Chad, thanks for doing this chat! Being drafted in the first round, did you ever feel that there was more pressure on you to perform in the minors/majors then on players around you?
Chad Hermansen
10:14
Ryan, 100% especially in the Majors.  I wanted to do so well in the Majors and tried so hard that it didn't serve me.  I came up with the Pirates highly touted and wanted to be that "next guy" so bad but was so in my head about my swing change that I was simply trying to find myself and made excuses in my mind why I struggled. The shame of not reaching my potential has eaten at me for over 20 years.
Dustin
10:14
Are you related to Dustin Hermansen?
Chad Hermansen
10:15
Dustin, no relations to Dustin but got called Dustin all the time throughout my career.  We do look similar as well with the facial hair even thought he had some different designs and trickery to his beard.
JT
10:15
Hi Chad, how would you say the game has grown in terms of emotional support resources for players compared to when you played?
Chad Hermansen
10:18
JT, yes 100%.  When I played there was zero of that.  It was simply old school mentality of figure it out and don't be soft.  There were no mental skill coached when I played other than Ken Ravizza and Dorfman who wrote some books.  IN my struggles I wish I had someone I could go to and just talk it out, ask for advice, and have some tools to work through it.  That's why I do what I do now in coaching current and former athletes on their mental game.
Nate
10:18
Hello Chad! Admire your baseball skills and just wanted to drop in and say hi. Happy Wednesday!
Chad Hermansen
10:18
Thanks Nate!
Hubs
10:18
What do you think of new rule changes?
Chad Hermansen
10:22
Hubs, I am a little torn over the new changes.  To me I has the thoughts if you are a manager play your guy wherever you want too knowing that you may be giving up something.  I can also see how that affects the Hititng game and could be a little boring watching a second baseman catch a would be base hit in shallow right throwing a runner out at 1B.  I've always felt more on the side of leave the game alone and cater it to the fans who love how it is and don't mind the 3 hours game and the strategy behind it all.  I don't think we should be catering to those who don't care much about the game but demand it should be shorter in time.  To me, the enjoyment of being at the park for 3 hours away from work and with your loved ones still is amazing.
Will the mind
10:22
What was your mindset as your were getting prepared through spring trainings?
Chad Hermansen
10:24
Will the mind, get bigger, stronger, faster. Kind of cliche but I was a slim player about 185-193 most of my playing career.  Putting on 5 lbs was difficult for me and I ate everything.  I focused on finding my swing ever off season and then would set goals on what I want to do and accomplish.
MikeD
10:24
What was life like as a scout?
Chad Hermansen
10:29
Mike D, life as a scout was very interesting.  When I got the job I was so excited to be back with an MLB team and a part of a team working to get back to a World Series.  When I first started I had Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.  It was certainly a learning process and curve of learning how to scout, how to give them a grade, and what do the grades even mean.  After two years they added on Arizona and New Mexico and I had the full four corner scouting job.  I'm married and have 4 kids so that was the hardest part being away from them around 100-120 days a year.  After a few more years I certainly started to see some changes in the scouting game where the analytics where becoming more and more important and felt like all I was doing was getting video for the higher ups and they really didn't care what my thoughts were on a player.  There was no more older school type scouting where I heard scouts fighting for players.  You had to take your feelings about a player out of it and focus on the numbers.
Backyardigan
10:30
Who did you imitate when playing baseball in the backyard as a kid? Your favorite player?
Chad Hermansen
10:31
Ken Griffey, Andre Dawson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, many more!  Anytime I batted lefty I was Griffey.  I had that little swag.  I got to play agaisnt Griffey and that was incredible.  I also got to play for his dad Ken Sr in the Arizona Fall League.  That was the year I got married.
video games
10:31
Be honest, how often have you played a baseball video game and played a season trying to make yourself the best player ever?
Chad Hermansen
10:32
I am not much of a gamer.  I was when I was a kid with Nintendo and Sega, but in pro ball didn't play at all.  The games now are incredible and that could have changed if I was playing now.
RickandMorty
10:32
How much pressure is it being a top 10 pick in the MLB draft?
Chad Hermansen
10:34
It was a lot.  I struggled with more my internal thoughts and what I made it mean.  When I went 7-8 in my first 2 games in Rookie Ball and Baseball America quoted my manager "walks on water" I thought oh man, here we go!
JT Realmuto
10:34
Do you see the quality and caliber of the player development and coaching staffs having improved quite a bit in recent years as teams invest more and more in professionalizing the organizations as a whole? Sorry that you had a bad experience with your hitting coach.
Chad Hermansen
10:36
I do like the fact that they are adding more coached to the staff. To have 3 or more coaches as hitting coaches is long overdue.  They have really amped up that part of the game and that is great.  Some teams have really focused more on provide better food and nutrition in the clubhouses and that is great.
Nate
10:36
I’m a Dbacks fan — who was the scariest Dbacks pitcher to face in your time in the majors?
Chad Hermansen
10:37
Nate, none of them were scary lol, but the most uncomfortable was for sure Randy Johnson.  It was weird seeing someone so tall up there on the mound it felt like he was releasing the ball right on top of you.
bmcferren
10:37
respectfully, in your mind what were the two or three reasons you went from a "walk on water" prospect to underwhelming performance in the majors during your time with the Pirates? I am curious of the development and deployment parts of what was going on in the organization at the time re you, Ron Wright, Danny Clyburn, Trey Beamen, ect...
Chad Hermansen
10:41
I lost complete confidence in myself the 2nd day in the big leagues.  I let a coach who I wanted to please immensely and do it his way effect me.  I was so in my head about what he wanted and doing it his way that I had a really difficult time just being me.  After I left the Pirates I din't really trust any more hitting coaches and just worked on things on my own for the most part.  I do however take full responsibility for my poor career, I just had a really hard time getting over that event and couldn't understand why we were changing something when you haven't seen me all year.  Let me fail first and then we make adjustments.
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