Charlie Badgley gets the concept and then some.
The senior center fielder knows his job as Warren’s leadoff hitter is to set a positive tone for the rest of the lineup to emulate.
What Badgley did by hitting safely in his first 10 at-bats of the season, however, gave the Blue Devils the type of jolt that can be long-lasting.
“I was shocked because I had never started a year like that,” he said. “I knew I had put the work in to have success. But it was something where every pitch was right where I wanted it to be thrown.”
During that torrid start, when Warren (8-2) outscored its opponents 39-15, Badgley also had seven RBIs, nine runs scored and four steals.
He has cooled off since — that was inevitable — but entered this week hitting .545 with a team-high 15 RBIs and 12 runs while striking out just twice. He hit his first home run of the season in Warren’s North Suburban Conference opener against Libertyville on Monday.
“It’s all about my approach going up to the plate,” Badgley said. “It’s a big mind game between you and the pitcher, like a one-on-one duel. And in my first at-bat, I want to see a few pitches. That helps your team out too.”
Badgley goes to the plate looking for his pitch, which almost always is a fastball. After his patient first at-bat, he strives to attack the first fastball he sees. When he’s ahead in the count, he assumes that’s what’s coming.
“I do everything possible not to swing at off-speed pitches early in the count,” he said. “That plays into what the pitcher wants you to do, and I want to be in control of the at-bat.”
Badgley, who also gives the Blue Devils a good glove in center, has an effect on the team outside the lines, too, according to Warren coach Clint Smothers.
“He does all of the little things that people don’t see behind the scenes,” Smothers said. “He’s the first one to start tearing down equipment and leads by example without being told to do so. And he’s always smiling.”
The smiling is both natural and calculated as Badgley tries to influence his teammates in a positive way. But he said he didn’t do that until he felt he had earned that right with his play.
“The analogy of flushing things down the toilet in baseball is so important because it’s a game of failure,” he said. “You’re going to have a golden hat trick, and you have to move on to the next day. We’re a team, a family, and we have to pick each other up.”
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Badgley’s leadership was on display at least twice on Warren’s trip downstate during spring break.
On March 27, the Blue Devils managed to beat highly rated Marion despite committing 10 errors. Their 8-3 loss to Cary Grove the next day prompted Badgley to help convene a team meeting, which was followed by an 11-1 bounce-back win against Wauconda on March 29.
“That was a wake-up call, showing that you can’t just go through the motions,” Badgley said. “We had a talk pregame and stressed that you have to put everything into every pitch and at-bat.”
With Badgley, whose twin sister Ally plays softball at Warren, encouragement can come one-on-one as well.
Senior right fielder Thomas Beardman, a Wisconsin-Eau Claire recruit, saw that firsthand when Badgley sought out teammate Albert Jaquez-Ramirez to ensure a rough game was put in the rearview mirror. The next day, Jaquez-Ramirez had two hits and was solid defensively.
“He’s an amazing player and athlete, but what really stands out is how he brings energy and confidence to everyone,” Beardman said of Badgley. “He’s always picking people up, and that’s something you can’t teach.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
