Visualize Base Hits

With Tim Salmon, Gary DiSarcina, Garret Anderson and Jim Edmonds, Damion Easley was supposed to be part of the foundation the Angels were to build their teams around in the 1990s.

It didn’t quite work out for Easley, who was plagued by injuries--primarily shin splints, but also shoulder and ankle problems--and self-doubts during his Anaheim stay, which lasted from his breaking into the lineup in August of 1992 until the Angels traded him to Detroit in July of 1996.

In return, the Angels got right-hander Greg Gohr, who appeared in 15 games in 1996, went back to the minors last year, and retired.

Since becoming a Tiger, Easley has become a solid everyday player. Last year, he led all American League second basemen with 21 homers (he also hit one playing shortstop) and drove in 72 runs while batting .264.

So far this season, despite Detroit’s sluggish start, Easley continues to thrive. He is batting .297, has hit safely in 23 of 30 games, and leads the Tigers in homers (six) and RBI (17).

The turnaround can be attributed to Easley being healthy, and the change of scenery. But there is something else.

To strengthen the mental part of his game, Easley turned to hypnotherapist Pete Seigel midway through the 1995 season. At the time, Easley was on his way to a second consecutive season batting less than .220, and had to squeeze out playing time behind Spike Owen and Rex Hudler.

“I needed something to make a difference,” Easley said. “I was skeptical. When you’re in the limelight everybody has a quick fix for your problems. But I was at a point where I needed to do something. So I was ready to listen to what he had to say.”

Each session with Seigel lasts 40 minutes. In that time, after being put into a hypnotic state, Seigel reinforces Easley’s conscious and unconscious mind with positive slogans. He also tells Easley to visualize his most successful moments at the plate, to remember the feelings and sensations that went into a particular home run or line drive into the gap.

Until now, Easley had never talked about his work with Seigel, not even with his teammates on the Angels or the Tigers.

But he said athletes should consider all kinds of avenues when they need help.

“If what I did can help someone else make it, that’s great,” Easley said. “When I played with the Angels, Chili Davis would talk to me and give me tips he might not give others, whether I used them or not. Now that I’m a veteran, I feel it’s my responsibility to help others. And when I went through a tough time, this is how I got out.

“The physical ability to play was always there. I had just become blocked mentally. Baseball is not my job, it’s my passion. I had accomplished a dream making it to the big leagues. And when you’re struggling, you’ll do anything to keep you where you think you belong.”

Seigel--a 20-year state certified hypnotherapist who has worked with Steve Beuerlein, the late Lyle Alzado, Troy Aikman, Gerry Cooney and former Clipper Ken Norman among others--said he developed his system by taking the best of studies in hypnotherapy, Gestalt therapy, and neurolinguistics programming.

“My job,” Seigel said, “is to provide [materials] that help the athlete reach his or her level of consistent and enhanced performance. While confidence is not necessarily a fragile thing, it can be impeded by conflicting emotions. Like a muscle, it needs to be trained.

“These players have hitting coaches, weight trainers, and nutritionists working with them. I see myself as a mental training coach, helping them to become stronger, successful players.”

At the time of the trade, Tigers manager Buddy Bell said the team hoped they were getting a player “who could fill a hole for us.” But Easley has gone beyond those expectations.

“He’s not only a dependable player, he’s become a leader in the clubhouse,” Bell said. “And he’s been good since Day One here.”

Bell said he had “heard” of Easley’s work with Seigel, but said his only concern was if Easley felt it was working.

“Sometimes it’s good to hear things from the outside,” Bell said. “Baseball is tough, the game is more demanding physically than people realize, and it can be even harder mentally. You can fail so much that it can become tough to deal with. And the more the competitor, the tougher that failure gets.”

Easley’s resurgence hasn’t been that easy for Anaheim General Manager Bill Bavasi to watch, since the Angels have nothing to show for the deal.

“When you make deals, you have to analyze on what you had at the time,” Bavasi said. “At that time, whether it was the injuries that caused him to play poorly, it was a struggle for him here. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, and maybe a different circumstance does work out.

“I don’t have anything but fond feelings for Damion, and I’m glad to see he is doing well. In hindsight, it turns out to be a bad trade. But those are things that happen.”