By John Klima
Staff Writer

A pinch hitter must manipulate his work like an alchemist, cognizant of every ingredient, and possessing of the courage to create change and avoid over-tinkering.

And that’s just his mental approach, not his swing.

In no time of the year does the fine art of pinch-hitting become more important than it does in September and October, when that small group of unheralded bench players can become as valuable as the heavy lifters. The formula is to do more with less. This requires certain players who can meld the mental with the physical, and simply elevate the game and take his team with him.

Andre Ethier, whose pinch-hit home run against the Cubs on Thursday afternoon in Wrigley Field gave the Dodgers perhaps their most coveted victory of the season, is a prime example of a young player who could be an everyday player but has to excel within a limited role.

He’s not the only kind of player in that situation in the National League West. A pinch hitter is usually a one-dimensional player, capable of contact, power or speed, but rarely a combination of any two of those talents.

That’s why the case can be made that Colorado outfielder Ryan Spilborghs is the best everyday player who is not an everyday player in the major leagues. He’s made his name off the bench, and this is not easy for young players to do, to put aside the conviction that they are everyday players, and to perform like they were born to come off the bench.

“One of the biggest issues I found is if I go into the cage too much, because I’m not playing, I can end up over-tweaking,” Spilborghs said. “I’m a minimalist when it’s right to be.”

That leaves a young player in a delicate situation. He must believe he can play every day, but most prove it by not. In the case of Spilborghs, he has taken advantage of as many opportunities as this season has allowed. That’s a tribute to a young player in an age of specialization. He has manipulated the formula to benefit himself and his club, and in the process, created enough smoke to make his own organization wonder what is burning.

“You’re saving me as a bullet,” Spilborghs, 27, said. “I’m one of the bullets you got left in your back pocket. (Rockies manager Clint Hurdle) called me his ‘trump card.’ That made me confident, and I’m confident to begin with. So when I get out there and see whoever is on the mound, I have a chance to hurt a guy that usually doesn’t get touched.”

Take your pick: Trevor Hoffman. Takashi Saito. Billy Wagner. Come in cold, leave hot, or go back to the minor leagues. The checks don’t bounce in the big leagues, but the opinions can change awfully fast.

This is another reason why the pinch hitter has one of the most difficult jobs in the game. Blocked by two studs on the corners, Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe, and a race horse, Willy Tavares, in center field, Spilborghs has performed admirably.

He has 10 home runs and 45 RBIs in 77 games, and a 3-for-28 slump drove his average down to .293. In early August, he had more RBIs than he had hits. He rakes left-handed pitching at a .347 clip.

Spilborghs can make the case that be belongs in someone’s outfield regularly. He has already done what many young players fail to do, which is to prove he can play every day without having the opportunity to do it. It is a process by which many young hitters are weeded out of the big leagues, the kind of situation that lets a club say, ‘See, we told you he couldn’t hit,’” and throw him overboard.

There’s usually something within the younger players who survive this crucible, if you can call it that. There must be defiance and a focus, an ability to smile and laugh, an ability to conceal a desire to be one of nine in the starting lineup and relish the role of being one of 25. That’s a reason why so many pinch hitters are veterans rather than younger players. It’s tough to get kids to check their egos at the door.

“The stats speak volumes for what I have done,” Spilborghs said. “I’ve been put in pinch-hit situations where there’s a guy on third base and nobody out a lot. If I was playing every day, am I going to get opportunities like that every day? No, probably not. Pinch-hitting has put me in those situations. First and third, one out, and now I’m in a situation where I can succeed with one at-bat and get a sacrifice or a base hit.”

Spilborghs has his own reasons for mental fortitude. His mother, Essie, has fought a strange lung infection over the past three years that Spilborghs said has sapped much of her strength.

Here’s the young pinch-hitter, a player who believes he can play every day but knows that’s not going to happen yet, and hopes it happens while he is young enough to reach a pay day. He also hopes his mother is around to witness it.

“She’s been fighting it off and on for three years now,” Spilborghs said. “As of now, it’s gotten to a point where it’s frightening.”

Pinch hitting is tougher when you have to block out stronger distractions than Hoffman’s change-up and Saito’s slider. Spilborghs has achieved this with something that is never included on a scouting scale, but always should be valued as much as the bat, the legs and the arm – it is what makes a pinch hitter successful, the ability to thrive with mind and determination.

“I think it does make me a little more proud of what I have done,” he said. “You try not to let outside influences affect what you do. I try to come to the ballpark and stay focused, but sometimes you know, you wish you could be with your Mom and your family and help out where you can. Whenever my family has come up to see me, I make it a point to try to take as much care. You can’t make up for lost time, but when I see them, I try to let them know how much I love them and how much I appreciate them.”

That is the signature of a successful pinch hitter, the ability to shelter the mind from the circumstances of the environment.