How A's Matt Chapman Picks Alex Bregman's Brain, Tries to Make Him Laugh

Matt Chapman is making his way in the conversation as arguably the best third baseman in baseball -- unfortunately, the All-Star votes aren't mirroring that ... for now. 

If you like to debate -- and I know you do -- about the subject, Rockies' Nolan Arenado and Astros' Alex Bregman without a doubt are brought into the conversation. And it turns out, they each have mutual respect for each other. Even pick one another's brains. 

"[Bregman] asks me questions about defense a lot -- I try to help him out, but he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do -- he's such a smart baseball player," Chapman said on "The Jim Rome Show" on Wednesday. "I try to pick his brain about how he is in the box and what he thinks about in the box and what pitches he hunts."

Chapman knows the two have very different swings. Bregman has a tendency to be more impact with Chapman swinging a bit bigger.

"I try to just see what his approach is. I feel like when he gets in the batter's box he knows exactly what he wants to do. I don't see him out of control very often and he doesn't strike out very much." 

"I try to help him with anything I can -- maybe I just make him laugh."

Arenado, another favorite of Rome's, said even he himself wasn't as good of a third baseman as Chapman. 

That's a hell of a compliment from someone whose résumé includes four All-Star selections, six Gold Glove Awards and two Platinum Glove Awards. 

Chapman was also asked about the successful season the A's had last year detailing the ups and downs of a season that ended too soon.

"When nobody expected anything out of us -- to be able to do what we did, was pretty cool." 

Still, it was a contrasting experience from the regular season to those later months.

"There's definitely a big difference -- I mean yes and no -- it's a big difference from the preparation, the things around it, and probably the feeling inside before the game," Chapman explained. "You know, definitely a little more emphasis on the game. "After my first at-bat, I felt like it slowed down a bit for me. It was a lot of fun -- I wish it wasn't so short lived."

And short-lived it was indeed. Just one game would bring the team's 97-win season to an end. A game that was difficult from the get-go. 

"Going into Yankee Stadium was tough," he said.

[RELATED: How Hendricks became bullpen star after being DFA'd]

The Yankees had home-field advantage and certainly got a jump start on the American League Wild Card game. 

"But I think we can look back and be proud of what we accomplished, and learn a lot from that game and maybe chip back a little bit more in a playoff game," Chapman explained. "I think we learned how to handle those emotions."

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