Don't Miss

Better fit means better season for Astros’ Hank Conger

September 14, 2015

Houston Astros’ Hank Conger is congratulated after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Christine Cotter)

By Brian Han

ANAHEIM, Calif. — In the stands at Angels Stadium, 54-year-old lifelong fan Anna Federoff and her husband Paul cheer on the opposing team’s catcher as he steps up to bat during a sweltering Friday afternoon.

“Welcome back, Hank!” she yells along with many other Angels fans who are sharing the same sentiment.

They are of course referring to catcher Hank “Choi Hyun” Conger of the Houston Astros who spent the first nine years of his professional career in the Los Angeles Angels organization before joining his new team just last year.

“It’s like watching your kid go off to college,” Paul Federoff said. “He’s still part of the family. Plus he seems to be doing just fine over there in enemy territory.”

In many ways Conger is doing better than “just fine” since landing in Houston.

“I would say it’s a better fit, and I’m having a good time over here,” Conger told the Korea Times. “The pitchers and a lot of the teammates have been very receptive to me. I’m thankful for that.”

Additionally, he’s given the Astros enough of a reason to give him a warm welcome to their roster.

Conger hit his first two career grand slams this season, one in August and the other in September.

“That was probably one of the best games I’ve ever had in my life,” he said of the August match up against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It was my first career multi-home run game, too. I remember everything very well. I got the ball, gave it to my dad. The Houston fans pumped it up and made it more exciting.”

Houston Astros’ Hank Conger (16) celebrates his grand slam with Jed Lowrie, left, Evan Gattis and Carlos Gomez (30) in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

He’s already racked up 11 home runs, 32 RBIs and sports a .446 slugging percentage so far in the 2015 season — all career highs for the 27-year-old Korean American who splits time at catcher with teammate Jason Castro. It should be noted that he’s already accomplished this with 19 games still left in the season and in fewer at-bats.

Part of it comes down to playing for a new organization, possibly one that knows how to utilize his talents better.

Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow has been open about using more analytical, data-driven strategy also known as sabermetrics, or advanced statistics.

“I think I’ve fully bought into that,” Conger said. “Especially with the scouting reports on what we want to do with certain hitters against other teams.”

“Some people say it’s a lot of info, but once you dig in, it’s manageable. You only take in as much as you allow yourself to.”

Astros’ Manager A.J. Hinch seems happy with the progress his newest catcher has made.

“Hank’s adjusted well to the new culture,” Hinch said. “We’ve got a very talented, but young group of guys out here and I’m confident when he’s behind the plate.”

A catcher is considered a leader on the field, directing defensive plays and calling pitches. That means developing relationships and communicating with teammates. It’s not something that just happens over night.

Although leaving Anaheim in the offseason also meant leaving the place where he grew up — Huntington Beach to be exact — Conger made every effort to look ahead and fit into his new club.

“Spring training was tough,” he said. “The biggest thing a lot of people don’t understand is that the toughest part of being a catcher is gaining trust from your pitchers and that starts in the spring.”

It was such a high priority that he went out of his way to connect with other players by catching extra bullpen sessions, chatting up players and even going out to dinner with pitchers “to get to know them on a personal basis.”

His preseason preparations seem to be paying dividends as the Astros pitching staff holds the lowest opponent batting average in the entire league at .237 and fourth-lowest ERA at 3.39.

To put things into perspective, the Astros had one of the poorest performing pitching staffs in the league in 2014.

Even though the team and its players are constantly adapting, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about Conger.

“Whether I came from America or not, I’m 100 percent Korean,” he said. “My name is Choi Hyun and that’s what I believe in. I’m very proud to be Korean. Players like Chan Ho Park made me realize that it’s possible for Koreans to compete in this league. I want to do that for all the Korean ballplayers out there. I want there to be hundreds and hundreds of Korean or Korean American ballplayers coming over to the big leagues.”

In his free time, Conger follows the other Korean players in both the majors and minors to keep up with their progress, but he does have someone he pays attention to in particular.

That would be the Pittsburgh Pirates South Korean rookie Kang Jung-ho who is currently putting up a Rookie-of-the-Year-caliber season with a .289 average that includes 15 home runs and 58 RBIs.

“O yeah, Kang,” he said with a grin. “I follow him. He hit a grand slam the other night. It makes me feel good to see him doing well.”

But competition is competition. If the stars align and the Astros play the Pirates in the World Series come October, Conger only has one response.

“No mercy towards Kang or the Pirates, Astros fighting!” he said.