MESA, Ariz. -- Anthony Iapoce needed to do something. He was struggling in the batter's box and searching for anything to turn things around. In need of answers or perhaps just some help from the baseball gods, he hoisted the pant legs on his uniform and went with high socks.

"Next game, I hit a homer," Iapoce said with a laugh. "I never pulled them back down."

That was back in 1993, when Iapoce suited up for Lamar University. He still wears the high-socks look now as the Cubs' new, but familiar, hitting coach. Chicago reunited with Iapoce -- formerly the team's Minor League hitting coordinator -- after he spent the past three years as the Rangers' Major League hitting coach.

Iapoce recently discussed his return and some of his philosophies in a chat with MLB.com.

MLB.com: What has it been like reconnecting with guys you saw coming up through the Minor League system in your former role with the Cubs?

Iapoce: "You're just really proud of a lot of guys, especially with what they accomplished in '16. But you hear them talk and how their talk is different -- it's maturity. Their practice has matured, as far as them knowing how to work, knowing their strengths, what to work on. The things that I saw when I left in '15 and where the guys are at now, they're detailed and understanding and so team-oriented on winning. Selfless players. It's just cool to be a part of it again. Talking with guys when I first got the job, it was like we were never apart from each other. Every other job I've taken, the first step is to establish relationships. Here, you have that right away. It's straight-up honest conversations."

MLB.com: Obviously, mechanics are a part of the hitting process, but how much importance do you place on the mental side of things? This spring, a lot of players have mentioned that aspect when talking about working with you.

Iapoce: "Everybody's always trying to separate mental, mechanical, analytics. Today's hitters, you've got to be a hybrid hitter. You've got to be able to handle everything. You can't just be one-sided or you're going to miss stuff. Even as a coach, if you're always talking about one thing, you're going to miss certain things that that player may need and how you want to present it to them. All winter, you're watching swings. You're watching video that guys are sending you from their practice.

"So you're talking about all that stuff, but ultimately, it comes down to how you think is going to put you in position to hit the ball. And it's retraining. I think we get messed up -- whether it's a pitcher or hitter -- we talk about, 'He can't repeat his delivery or swing.' That's not a physical thing. It's a thought. We need to teach them to repeat his thoughts. Repetitive thoughts. Telling yourself what you want to do usually puts your body in a position to do what you want to do."

MLB.com: Cubs manager Joe Maddon has started referring to situational hitting as 'opportunity hitting,' because that is what you called it in a meeting. That's subtle, but why is that type of phrasing important?

Iapoce: "I just said it in a presentation. He took it and ran with it. There's all kinds of ways to change certain things. Like, extra and early. Everybody's doing 'extra work' an 'early work.' So, our early work is 'get better work.' Our extra work is 'domination work.' You've got to be able to dominate your practice before you step on a field. Using terms like that, as a coach, at least I am, you're afraid of getting stale. So I'm not saying the same things I said two years ago or two years before that. My standards and principles are still the same, but how I present them are a lot different. And it's going to be different in future years.

"I think how you do that is you venture out of baseball. You just read. You read or you watch documentaries and you read more. You read about business. You read about philosophies. You read about other sports. You read about individual sports. And that's where things start to come from. I just love reading new things from other people, even old books -- it doesn't matter -- that I can bring into the hitting world or team aspect of baseball."