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Lightning Strikes
A relaxed mental approach towards the game has allowed Charlotte Knights' outfielder Joe Borchard to finally live up to the enormous expectations that made him a first-round pick.

By Mike Scandura
Minor League News

06.28.04 - Pawtucket, R.I. – Call it baseball's version of Zeus hurling thunderbolts from Mount Olympus. That's what Charlotte Knights' outfielder Joe Borchard did to a trio of Pawtucket Red Sox pitchers on May 23 at McCoy Stadium. Borchard, the Chicago White Sox' first-round pick (12th overall) in the 2000 draft, "celebrated" his being voted International League Batter of the Week by blasting three home runs, including two in one inning.

In doing so, Borchard became the first player in Knights' history to hit two long balls in one frame.

"That's the kind of player Joe's capable of being," said Charlotte manager Nick Capra. "He can electrify the game of baseball when he's swinging the bat like he did tonight, he's just got to learn to stay within himself and not do too much.

"(Joe's) capable of having big games like that."

Games like this are why Baseball America voted the switch-hitting Borchard the No. 5 prospect, the top power hitter and the outfielder with the best arm in the White Sox' organization.

In retrospect, Borchard played a host of big games while at Stanford, not only in baseball but also football.

Borchard played in the 1999 College World Series and also quarterbacked the Cardinal in the 2000 Rose Bowl.

He owns the Pac-10 record for the longest touchdown pass (98 yards) from scrimmage and was voted First Team All-Pac 10 honors in football as a sophomore.

"When I was in college, I considered myself both a football player and a baseball player," said Borchard. "When the opportunity to play baseball came along, I became a baseball player. Playing (quarterback) in the NFL was something that entered my head when I was playing football. But the last couple of years it hasn't entered my thoughts."

That's with good reason because Borchard has displayed a rare combination of power and speed, so much so that he's already had two cups of coffee with the White Sox. Despite injuries, he's on the cusp of quaffing the whole pot.

"Joe pulled a quad muscle and really didn't have spring training this year, so he got off to a slow start," said Capra. "He started to get going. Then, then he tweaked a back muscle and missed six games.

"Ever since that he's been swinging the bat well from both sides of the plate and he looks like he's getting to where he needs to be."

Borchard, who has plus power and a plus arm, needs to be right mentally as well as physically. Given the difference between a football mentality and a baseball mentality, that's been a major challenge.

"Joe's just real tough on himself," said Capra. "He expects the best from himself day in and day out. That's one of the things he's learned to control. He can't be hard on himself. He's got to come out and make sure he's having fun.

"You're going to have your good days and you're going to have bad days. No one likes to fail. But more than anything, I think people that learn to deal with some of the failure are the ones who are major league players."

Borchard's certainly had his share of good days. Entering this season, his career minor league batting average was a respectable .276, with 62 homers and 228 RBI. As the end of May neared, he was on target to match, or surpass, his seasonal averages.

Discussing his mental approach with Capra has helped Borchard realize he can't take the field wound so tight he might snap.

"You have to find a way to direct that intensity so that it helps you," he said. "Playing football and baseball, they're extremely competitive sports so you have to be willing to compete. Certainly, I feel like the more I play the better I get at directing my intensity in the proper places."

How?

"I try to bring more humor into the equation rather than just pure, fierce intensity," said Borchard. "It's more of a humorous, fun-loving type of thing. It's still the same intensity but it's directed in a different way."

It's a way that hasn't been a laughing matter for International League pitchers.