If you have been a fan of baseball as long as I have, this picture has unfortunately become an all too familiar scene. STRIKE 3, YOUR OUT. Today's players are far too concerned with jacking homers with little regard for batting average. There was an Nike ad campaign years ago centered around Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine with the saying "Chicks Dig the Long Ball" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLECMCargd8). So, the chicks changed the game?
Where have all the contact hitters gone? Is there no room for the single hitters. Imagine no Ichiro or Wage Boggs. How about gap hitters. A double would be nice now and then. Throw in a Triple every other week or two so I can remember the good old days.
Launch angle and exit velocity are all the rage in today's game. I remember hearing Don Mattingly say if you execute a proper swing plane, the ball will indeed leave the ballpark. I truly believe we are teaching young players the wrong batting fundamentals. Putting bat on ball and putting said ball in play has taken a back seat to attempting to put said ball over said outfield fence. Boring!!
I went to the Diamondback game the other night and I was thrilled with what I saw what Diamondback hitters do, they basically hit the ball, singles, doubles a triple and a home run. It was the full hitters gambit. Not only did they hit, they ran the bases. They are a young athletic team full of youthful exuberance. They are not a team build on old age and bulk.
My favorite player of all-time was Mickey Mantle. I adored how far he could hit a baseball. But, he also was a Triple Crown winner and in his youth was the reputed fastest from home to first.
I know not every player can be a Superstar but what we can expect players fully versed in all aspects of the game. For now, I'm back on the D-Back bandwagon with there youth movement. Sometimes you don't have to win World Series to entertain.
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