In April and May through his career, Youk is a. For the beginning part of this season, the Alex Rodriguez injury and PED news will still hover as somewhat of a distraction to this team. Although his bat has not been what it was in 2008-2010 (.300+ average all three years), he still is a decent defender at the third base position.įor Youkilis, I care more about his production in April and May this year. I liked the move by the Yankees to bring him in when the Alex Rodriguez surgery news broke. It is not 2008, so I don’t expect big things from Youk in terms of his overall 2013 production. After all the turmoil Youkilis went through with his manager last year, all the lights on him won’t feel as big, especially with the cast of characters around him in the lineup. Yes, I am talking about the former goateed, now clean shaven and bald headed Kevin Youkilis. (Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) To succeed early to put A-Rod out of sight and out of mind. Out, Yankees’ fans will look for Kevin Youkilis That is an issue, but in this article, I want to focus on the hot corner. Most of you will think that battle is at the catching position. When the Red Sox come to the Bronx on April Fool’s Day, the player I am focusing on could be a nice break from the dark cloud that has loomed over the Yankees’ head this winter that has the feel of a winter storm Nemo cloud ( Alex Rodriguez). When the season begins on April 1 st, there will be a large spotlight on one position on the diamond in the eyes of fans and experts alike. Here are some of the craziest hitting mechanics found among active major leaguers, led by perhaps the ugliest swing in baseball history.As the Yankees begin Spring Training down in Tampa, Florida this week, there is one position battle I am going to focus on that is not considered a position battle. The players on this list aren't as interested in looking like hitters as they are in being hitters. Forget those instructional videos by back-to-back-to-back AAU champion Tom Emanski. Iorg leaned so far over his own back leg that he looked like a human Barcalounger.īut fear not, because in these modern times there are still a handful of brave souls who aren't afraid to do things the wrong way. Electric eels.Īnd there was my personal favorite, Blue Jays third baseman Garth Iorg. There was Gary Sheffield, who vibrated as though someone had dumped live eels down his pants. There was Jeff Bagwell, who evidently arrived at the plate riding the world's fattest horse. There was Julio Franco with his bat hanging over his helmet, and there was Ruben Sierra with a leg kick so high it pulled other people's hamstrings. There was Rickey Henderson, whose exaggerated crouch explains his low K rate with the simple truth that it was tough to fit three whole strikes into his zone. There was Tony Batista, whose stance was so open it looked like he was trying to get a head start out of the batter's box-and run to third base. Hardly the soundest method for handling a 90 mile per hour projectile. Then there was Mickey Tettleton, who stood stock-still and held the bat straight away from his body like a fishing rod. That wacky stance, which involved Stan the Man twisting his head and staring at the mound over his shoulder, was later adopted in a less extreme version by the Hit Dog, Mo Vaughn. I can't think of a single player who aligns himself with his back to the pitcher like Stan Musial did. Today, with online videos, 24-hour-a-day media coverage and state-of-the-art training programs, there seem to be fewer and fewer unique batting stances. While the sport's current crop of players still includes its share of weirdness, it seems as though consistency and conformity are slowly taking over. Think Darryl Strawberry's front leg flying. There was a time in the game of baseball when unique approaches to the game led to all sorts of crazy moves, maneuvers and mechanics.
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