Mookie Finally Goes Yard

[Marbleheader]

So far, Mookie hasn't been having a great spring. He was just 1 for 18 going into yesterday's action. It was particularly encouraging to see this swing to lead off the game yesterday:


Mookie had a strong spring last year slashing .319/.368/.549 last year and we can probably all agree the year was a little bit of a letdown from his 2016 campaign (he had a similarly strong spring that year as well).

I wouldn't say I'm worried about him, but it has definitely been out of the ordinary to see him struggle this much in ST.

 

[dynomite]

Definitely agreed that Mookie’s 2016 was so stunning* that I think we lost sight a little bit of the fact that he’s still an incredibly young and maturing hitter.

* List of players with more fWAR than Mookie in 2016: Mike Trout, Kris Bryant. End of list.

That said, his spring stats don’t really matter to me. As an article a few years reminded us:

There is no meaningful connection between spring training statistics and the subsequent regular season statistics for hitters.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.beyondtheboxscore.com/platform/amp/2013/3/11/4087430/spring-training-statistics-are-utterly-meaningless

I can’t wait to see what Mookie does at the top of this lineup.

 

[DeweyWins]

If the Sox are trying to tinker with swings to improve "launch angle", I think this is going to cause some trouble for some players, possibly including Mookie. It's one thing to adjust a stance, a timing mechanism. It is another to change the resulting swing from what guys have been used to using. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it takes a lot, a LOT of reps to even begin to make the motion feel somewhat natural to guys who aren't used to that kind of swing.

If this is anywhere approaching the reason for Mookie's seeming struggles in ST, I would remind the powers that be that even the best toolbox has more than different sized hammers contained within it. Screwdrivers and wrenches are necessary tools, too. That, and the saying, "There's more than one way to skin a cat". Of course, in hindsight, I wonder why anyone is concerned about how many ways there are to skin cats. Seems sort of creepy. Still, my point is, thus, made.

 

[drbretto]

Or, if that's the reason for his slow spring, this is the time to get those reps in. These games don't count.

 

[lexrageorge]

18 at bats is not a small sample size; it's a meaningless minuscule sample size. And that's just one of the reasons why spring training stats have no meaning.