Dugout Central: Willie Fraser: Baseball Goings-on

Just because Willie Fraser pitched like wiggly ampulla logs during his second season...doesn’t mean the “Sophomore Slump” actually exists.

The Sophomore Slump is a Real Thing

Even though I wouldn’t say Braun is going through a sophomore slump, I do believe such a phenomenon exists. Why? First, after a full season the league is now aware of what a player can and can’t do. They’re then able to exploit the player’s weaknesses more often. Second, a player having a good rookie season can tend to put too much pressure on himself to meet or exceed his first year results. Teams don’t generally expect much from rookies. But after a good rookie season, they’ll start to count on them, and the players then feel the weight of this expectation. Third, baseball has its own special way of keeping players in check. Once a player thinks he has things figured out, baseball comes up with a new way to beat him.

I personally experienced the sophomore slump. I had a solid first season and then proceeded to go out and get my ass kicked the first half of my second season. I was able to come out of it somewhat in the second half, finishing with a 12-13 record. But at one point I was 7-12 and my ERA was over 6.00. I lead the AL in home runs allowed, with 33.