OAKLAND - It's hard to overstate how great a month Matt Chapman just had.
Known for his highlight-reel plays on defense, the A's third baseman has transformed into one of the best hitters in the game. After going 2-for-5 with a home run and double in Friday night's 7-5 win over the Seattle Mariners, Chapman finished August with an MLB-best 22 extra base hits, tying the A's franchise record.
"I didn't even know," he laughed. "I didn't really think about any of that stuff. I know it sounds cliché, but I was just thinking about the team, and just trying to get on base and help our team win games."
The 25-year-old has certainly done more than that. He slashed .319/.366/.681 for the month, with nine home runs, 12 doubles, and a triple. A's manager Bob Melvin credited Chapman's improved plate discipline as the main reason for his success.
"It's really the maturation of him offensively," Melvin said. "You see him just laying off that pitch away now. ... The one thing he needed to overcome was swinging at that slider in the dirt away, or swinging at an expand fastball out there. He doesn't do it anymore. He makes you throw it over the plate. He has power the other way. For me, that's the biggest step he's taken offensively."
"Pitch selection is a huge part of it," Chapman agreed. "Laying off those tough pitches and really hunting your pitch. I think what let to my success was making sure I was swinging at all the pitches I was looking for. ... I think sometimes when I was going bad, I would be chasing and flipping counts on myself. I feel like [this month] I was getting myself in a lot of good counts and taking my walks."
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Chapman's season batting average is all the way up to .282, with 22 home runs, 33 doubles, and six triples. His .894 OPS ranks seventh in the AL, even better than Khris Davis.
"It's awesome," marveled teammate Matt Olson. "The guy is obviously incredible in the field, but he can swing it too."
Chapman is even beginning to get some talk as a possible MVP candidate, and deservedly so. His 7.3 WAR ranks fourth among position players in the majors, behind only Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and José Ramirez.
The scariest part for opposing teams is that, with less than two years of big-league experience, Chapman is only going to get better.
