How ‘Being OK With Failure’ Helped AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz Find Success

Brent Rooker knew before Nick Kurtz became the youngest ever player to homer in four games that he was seeing something he’d never seen before from a 22 year old. The Athletics returned home from a road trip to host an Astros team that employed two of Major League Baseball’s most overpowering late-inning relievers in Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader. Kurtz smashed a Abreu slider 447 yards to the right at Sutter Health Park in the bottom of ninth inning. Rooker, who was on first base, had just tied the game. Three days later Kurtz again walked off Hader, this time taking the Astros closer a distance of 416 feet to the dead center. This was the only home run Hader allowed for a left handed hitter that year. “I think a number of our minds were opened,” Rooker later told me, “to how special he really is.”  Kurtz was a promising prospect at the time. He became one of Major League Baseball’s best hitters around this time. Kurtz was the best MLB hitter from June 15 to the end of the year. He hit 100% better than the league average, and posted numbers that were higher than those achieved by Yankees star Aaron Judge. It was one the best halves in baseball history, and a feat that would be impressive for any player. “There’s obviously a little bit of pressure added on top of that because, ‘He moved up fast, is he ready, is he not?’” Kurtz told me in September, a day before the A’s put up 17 runs on the Angels. “That’s kind of why you do it, you know? Yeah, it’s tough, but it’s what makes it fun and kind of the challenge of it all. “How good can you be under all that pressure?” Nick Kurtz hit a few highlight-reel HRs throughout the season (Getty Images). As it turns out, he was historically good. Kurtz wasn’t called up until April 23, yet he still produced one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, launching 36 home runs with a 1.002 OPS. Only Judge and Albert Pujols were rookies who reached those numbers within the last century. The circumstances could’ve overwhelmed Kurtz. Instead, the quick ascension — and the doubters that came with it — served as extra motivation. “You think I’m not as good as I am? I’m going to try to prove you wrong,’” Kurtz said. “Then there’s also going and proving people right.”‘He’s Years Advanced’It’s easy now, considering Kurtz was crowned the unanimous Rookie of the Year on Monday, to forget that it took some time for his raw power to manifest as a big leaguer. For much of the year, Kurtz’s teammate, Jacob Wilson, was the odds-on favorite to win MLB’s top rookie honor. Wilson had an impressive number of hits, but Kurtz’s OPS was.558 after 23 games. The No. 4 overall pick didn’t hit his first home run until his 17th game, and after he finally went deep, he then went hitless over his next six games. Kurtz struck out 31 times in his first 77 attempts. And yet, by season’s end, he still led all rookies in home runs, runs, RBI, walks, slugging and OPS.Shea Langeliers said, “I was nowhere near the mental fortitude that he had when he was 22.” “He’s years advanced.” With Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz, the A’s are in for a bright future. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) Langeliers, a 2019 first-round pick who was also an A’s top prospect when he debuted at 24 years old, could relate more than most to Kurtz’s situation. During Kurtz’s slow start, he encouraged the phenom first baseman to take a step back and think about the incredible situation he found himself in, living out his lifelong dream. Kurtz was a college baseball player just one year before, so the early growing-pains were to be expected. The pitches moved more and he no longer made the same mistakes at lower levels. Langeliers stated that the situation can be overwhelming. “It feels like you’ve got to be the best player on the field at all times.The biggest change Kurtz needed to make was mental, not mechanical. When he first entered the big leagues he thought that he could get a hit from anyone at any time. He would learn that’s not always possible. Kurtz said, “just being okay with failure.” “Being ok with” failure, explained Kurtz. ‘I can’How can I add value? How can I provide value?’”His A’s teammates helped him gain that perspective. “I’m talking to Shea, I’m talking to Rook, I’m talking to guys that are like, ‘This is what they’re doing to you, you got nothing to hit that at-bat, move on,’” Kurtz said. “… Many of the questions are, “OK, what should I do next?” What should I change? What should I look for next time? What should I look for next time?’”Kurtz is prone to swing and miss, but he doesn’t chase out of the zone, and he’ll take his free passes. He’s always done it. In just three seasons at Wake Forest, Kurtz set the team’s single-season and career records for walks. Even when Kurtz’s power wasn’t translating early on with the A’s, his teammates saw that same quality of at-bat and advanced approach and believed it was only a matter of time until everything clicked. They would relay those words of encouragement to the 22-year-old slugger. “‘Hey man, you’”You are obviously very talented,” Rooker said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, keep doing the right things, the production’s going to come.””‘You made it, just enjoy the moment, be in the moment,’Langeliers remembered telling Kurtz. “And something like that, ‘Be yourself. You don’It doesn’t have to. You’re here for a reason. You’re that good. Just believe in that.’” Darren Bush, the team’s director of hitting, encouraged Kurtz to be a good hitter first and the home runs would follow. Kurtz hit 22 long-range home runs over a period of 43 games after his early slump. Nothing significant changed mechanically. “He was drafted last year, and he’s in the big leagues,” Bush said. “You’re not going to make a whole lot of changes. You need to know how to adapt. You have to learn how to face big-league pitching and understand what they’re trying to do, and you have to learn how to continue to do what you do well and not allow them to alter you off of what you do well. It takes time.Kurtz seemed immune to the peaks, and valleys experienced by most young players after his slow start. Although his average dropped down the stretch, each month’s OPS from May to the end of the season was over.850. He was able to hit all pitches, with a slugging percentage of over.500 on fastballs, breaking ball and off-speed pitches. By year’s end, he was one of just three players along with Judge and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to finish the season with an OPS over 1.000 in more than 400 at-bats. It made him grin to see his name listed with those MVPs. “Obviously I know it’s there, I have Instagram,” Kurtz said. “I see this kind of stuff.” He does his best to ignore it. Kurtz stated, “I like to be where my feet are.” “Today, let’s worry about today. Today is a bad day? OK, let’s worry about tomorrow. That’s how I kind of deal with failure, moving on. Baseball’s not life or death.” Homers and Standing OvationsThis mindset has served Kurtz well, dating back to his days at Wake Forest. Kurtz’s OPS was over 1.100 for all three of his college years, but in his first 19 games during his junior year, he hit only.231 and had three home runs. Over his next 10 matches, Kurtz hit 14 home runs. His ability to withstand the ups and downs of a season, Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter believes, is both the result of Kurtz’s exceptional decision-making at the plate and his personality. Even when Kurtz was getting pitched around late in his college career, he didn’t let that frustration bleed into his performance or force him out of the zone. “It’s not a ‘ride the emotional rollercoaster,’Walter told me. “He takes a mature and professional approach to the game, and he understands that there are going to be stretches where you’re struggling, and there are going to be stretches where you’re really going good, and over time those are going to kind of even out.”That’s how it played out in his first year with the A’s. Kurtz, a streaky power-hitter who calls himself a “power hitter”, hit four homers in a four game stretch. He was gaining momentum when he injured his hip flexor late in May. He returned on 9th June. He delivered walk-offs a week later against Abreu. Home runs suddenly started to appear in a flurry. The prodigious strength of his power was apparent in his bat speed (6th highest in MLB in this year), in his barrel rate (7th in MLB), in the 18 homers that traveled more 400 feet, as well as in how he sprayed homers over all fields. In the 10 games he played between July 8-21 he hit six homers, which set the scene for one of the most memorable games in his debut year. Kurtz achieved a feat only once before in MLB’s history on July 25, when Shawn Green accomplished it in the year 2002. He went 6-for-6 in Houston with four homeruns. Three of his home runs were aimed in the opposite direction, into the Crawford Boxes on the left side. Kurtz continued to amaze with his strength throughout the rest of the season. Lawrence Butler, his teammate who was on second base at the time, turned around to stare with mouth open in awe. The mammoth shot to center, a 493-foot blast that cleared the batter’s eye at Sutter Health Park, was the longest home run by any player since Ohtani hit one the same projected distance two years prior. Langeliers told Langeliers, “It’s obvious that this kid is a smart guy. He handled his failure well.” “A lot of guys — I would say most guys — struggle with that when they first get here just because whatever your hole is, they’re going to find it, and they’re going to expose you.Only time will tell if Kurtz needs to make another adjustment. The breakout came despite Kurtz’s struggles against lefties. His strikeout rate was the seventh highest among players with 400 or more plate appearances. Defensively, he was not a very good first baseman. Those shortcomings might also reveal the untapped potential in the preternaturally gifted 22-year-old. He is part of an intriguing nucleus in Sacramento of offensive stars. The A’s only won 76 games this year, but their offense ranked eighth in OPS. And with the emergence of Kurtz and Wilson, who became the first set of teammates to finish first and second in AL Rookie of the Year voting since 1984 (Mariners duo Alvin Davis and Mark Langston), they can envision a more prosperous future — one that their 35-29 record in the second half might indicate is not far away. “It’s visible that we’re building toward something special,” Langeliers said. We have a core group of guys who are performing well and getting better. Kurtz added: “This could be the team we desire.”Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He has covered the L.A. Dodgers as well as the LA Clippers, Dallas Cowboys and LA Clippers. Rowan is an LSU grad. Born in California, raised in Texas and moved to the West Coast again in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner. 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2025-11-11 00:34:21