Northwest Indiana Oilmen catcher Nate Montgomery is finding his power again.
“I lacked that a little bit this spring,” he said. “I’ve been talking with (Oilmen manager Adam) Enright about hitting to my strengths and doing damage with every swing I take.”
He’s also getting an education in the business side of baseball this summer.
Along with his commitment to play for the Oilmen on the field, Montgomery is working as an intern, helping with the organization’s sales and marketing departments.
And Montgomery is thriving in that internship. Oilmen director of communications Brandon Vickrey confirmed that Montgomery is the top salesman among the Oilmen interns this summer, responsible for the sponsorship that put a Kellogg’s sign on the right field wall at Oil City Stadium.
Montgomery is majoring in sport management at Tusculum University in Tennessee, the college he transferred to after spending two seasons at South Suburban College.
The internship he’s completing this summer satisfies a requirement of his college education, but his numbers at the plate might be more impressive than his sales numbers.
Through the first game of the Oilmen’s Sunday doubleheader against Joliet, Montgomery was leading the team in home runs (five), RBIs (23), hits (26) and slugging percentage (.644). His .356 batting average ranked second on the team.
He said a lot of that success stems from adjustments he’s made at the plate.
“If someone is pitching to their strengths, I can’t be afraid to move in the box to set up better balls for me to hit,” Montgomery said. “If they’re throwing sliders away, I can move up in the box and crowd the plate to take that away from them.”
Enright also explained the different ways he has Montgomery and the rest of the Oilmen anticipating the ball, breaking from the old adage of looking for outside pitches and simply reacting to inside ones.
“Once pitchers start throwing in the 80s and low 90s, that’s nearly impossible to do,” Enright said. “You’re not going to do a lot of damage to the pull side. It’s about setting up for inside pitches and then knowing that you can adjust to outside pitches, especially early in the count.”
Montgomery said that’s helped him be ready when hittable pitches over the inside half of the plate arrive.
“I’m happy that I’m not missing those pitches,” he said. “The stats and all that are great. I’m seeing the ball well. When I get a fastball while I’m up in the count, I’m doing damage. It’s good to have that confidence that, when I’m getting something to hit, I’m not going to miss it.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
