Goldschmidt, Kipnis deserving of high praise
Yankees first baseman
Lyle Overbay was a mentor to Paul Goldschmidt during their time
together in Arizona, and Overbay still marvels at the advanced approach
that Goldschmidt displayed even as a rookie in
2011.
Specifically, Overbay recalls a sequence from
Aug. 25, 2011, when Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer off Nationals
reliever Tyler Clippard in the eighth inning of a game the D-backs won
8-1.
Overbay said he told Goldschmidt, “You will get a
good pitch, a fastball or a changeup. It’s hard to see the difference
(in arm speed). You almost have to sit on one, or else you’ll get caught
in between and foul pitches off.”
So, what
happened?
“He took two fastballs, and at least one
was right down the middle,” Overbay said. “I had a feeling he was
sitting on a change. But I kind of saw Gibby (manager Kirk Gibson) out
of the corner of my eye. I could see him getting a little mad at him
taking those fastballs.
“I thought, ‘I hope he gets a
changeup and hits it really far. If he doesn’t, he’ll be called into
the office.’ Well, he hit a home run. He sat on it. He didn’t panic. The
confidence he has in his game plan is pretty
good.”
Unsung
Kipnis
Take a guess: Which
player has the highest OPS of any second baseman in the American
League?
Not Robinson Cano. Not Dustin Pedroia. Not
Howie Kendrick or Ian Kinsler.
Nope, the leader is
Jason Kipnis of the Indians — the surprising Indians, who on Sunday tied
the Tigers for first place in the AL
Central.
Kipnis, 26, the former Arizona State star,
stands almost no chance of overtaking Cano in the All-Star fan
balloting. He might not make the team at all, considering Pedroia’s
all-around brilliance and Kendrick’s scorching performance in
June.
Still, consider the OPS standings at
second:
Kipnis: .917.
Cano:
.868.
Pedroia: .843.
Kendrick:
.833.
Pedroia rates as easily the best defender of
the group, according to John Dewan’s plus-minus ratings on
BillJames.com. But Kipnis also leads in stolen bases, with 19 successes
in 24 attempts.
Whether Kipnis makes the AL team or
not, he is becoming a star — not that you would have viewed him that way
in April, when he batted .200 with a .555 OPS.
“The
thing that most impressed me is how he struggled in spring training and
struggled at the start of the season, but took it in stride, stuck to
his approach and continued with the same routine,” teammate Mike Aviles
says.
“He knew what worked for him. You don’t see
that a lot with a younger player. He could have hit the panic button in a
hurry, and it could have been all downhill. But he knew he was a good
player. He knew he was going to get out of it.”
Said
Kipnis: “I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself. You get up here,
you learn how long the season is, how ups and downs are part of the
game. It’s just going to happen.
“Especially early on
in your career, you want to stay away from thinking, ‘I don’t know if I
belong up there. This is too tough.’ ”
It’s not too
tough for Kipnis, a left-handed hitter who had a big first half last
season before slumping in the second. So far this season, he is the
game’s best hitter for average at going to the opposite
field.
Kipnis is 37 for 69 going the other way, a
.536 average. His .957 slugging percentage to the opposite field ranks
third in the majors, behind only Yasiel Puig and Chris Davis, both of
whom are at 1.086.
Is Kipnis an All-Star? Sure looks
like it.
“I got close last year,” Kipnis said. “But
you want to talk about a hard position to crack — with AL second base,
there are some guys who need to be in there every single year, and
deservedly so. Cano, Pedroia, all of them. But every player would love
to be in the All-Star Game. It’s a dream of everyone’s. Hopefully, it
comes true this year. If not, we try again next
year.”
here for the rest of this week’s Around The
Horn.