Hanley Ramirez decided to let it rip.
Ramirez launched his first home run of spring training Sunday as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 at JetBlue Park. The blast perhaps was a sign of things to come, although the outfielder was quick to point out after the contest that his prior power outage had been by design.
“I’ve been feeling comfortable with what I’ve been doing to get ready,” Ramirez told reporters in Fort Myers, Fla. “I’ve been trying to slow my swing down and hit a hard ground ball to second. I wasn’t trying to get hits. This is what we use spring for, to get ready for the season. Get your stroke back and make some adjustments.”
Most spring training stats don’t really matter, and Ramirez’s strategy for getting his timing back offers more evidence that this time of year is more about shaking off any rust than swinging for the fences. But one can’t help but be encouraged by Ramirez’s three-run moon shot to straightaway center field Sunday, as he’ll be relied on heavily this season to provide right-handed pop in the middle of the order.
“With each at-bat accumulated, you’re seeing better timing,” Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters. “As the timing gets more consistent, you see the consistent contact point out front.”
The days of Ramirez swiping 50 bags are long gone. The 31-year-old now is built like a pure slugger, and the Red Sox are hopeful it translates into power production that Boston lacked for most of last season.
It remains to be seen whether Ramirez, who added a two-run single and finished with five RBIs Sunday, will revert back to his “let’s ground out to second base” tactic over the final two weeks of camp. But you can bet he’ll be taking some hearty cuts when the games start counting for real April 6.
“I mean, I was working on stuff,” Ramirez told reporters. “Like I told Panda, we’re not trying to make the team. We’re just trying to get ready for the season.”
Ramirez, who’s now hitting .300 (9-for-30) in 11 Grapefruit League games, sure looked ready Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@elnuevodiariord
