"The subject was hitting, and what B.J. Upton was hearing was nothing new, really.

He had heard it before from Little League and high school coaches; from minor league instructors and from Tampa Bay Rays hitting coaches Steve Henderson and Derek Shelton.

It was about the theory of hitting and the approach at the plate and the application of both.

This time, the speaker was Rod Carew and, well, Rod Carew!

"He's got a great track record," Upton said. "He had some good things to say. He said he'd been watching me for a while and, so to speak, threw his two cents in."

Upton traveled to California in the offseason and spent two days talking hitting with the Hall of Famer who won seven batting titles, hit .388 in 1977, compiled a .328 career average and finished with 3,053 career hits.

"I wish I could spend an hour talking hitting with Rod Carew," Shelton said. "I'm being serious."

Upton has said since the day he reported for spring training last month that he is in a "good place" when it comes to hitting. Some of that stems from his left shoulder being two years past surgery, some from his offseason working with Shelton at the Trop. Some comes from his time with Carew.

"Honestly, he talked about some of the things me and Derek talked about," Upton said. "Just hearing it from him gives it a different look, a different feel."

The meeting was arranged by Larry Reynolds, Upton's agent, and Upton told Shelton of the trip beforehand. Shelton was all for it.

"We encourage it," Shelton said. "Sometimes hearing a message a different way or from a different person, that's fine."

Sean Rodriguez never had a one-on-one with Carew during his years in the Angels organization, but he often heard Carew talk hitting while Carew was hanging around the batting cage.

"I'd always stop and listen," Rodriguez said. "A lot of the things he said, obviously, were very useful. I mean, he's Rod Carew. Anything you can get from this guy is a smart move.""