Nats' Desmond gets encouraging pep talk from Ripken Jr.
Ian Desmond is in the midst of the most disappointing season of his career. The Nationals shortstop, who's batting average has hovered around the .200 all year, wants nothing more than to turn his abysmal season around. And he now has hope that he can, thanks to a very unlikely source -- Cal Ripken Jr.
The Hall of Famer was in Washington over the weekend as part of the TBS broadcast crew and ran into Desmond, with whom he had an encouraging chat.
"He said, 'Hey, back in '93, through the first 80 games I was hitting .199. I finished with a pretty good year, you’re gonna be all right,' " Desmond told The Washington Post. "That kind of gave me a little bit of hope. Kind of like oh, all right. If he did it, grinded through it, I can, too. That's the mentality I have, but it's always nice to have that reassurance. You never know where it's gonna come from or who's gonna be the person that kind of lifts you up, but you gotta keep your ears and eyes open all the time."
Nationals manager Matt Williams and general manager Mike Rizzo have been very supportive of Desmond through his struggles and have been adamant that they plan to stick with him. He's played all but three games this season, more than anyone else on the team.
Williams has tried to give Desmond days off to rest and regroup, but he insists on playing and working through the tough times -- just like Ripken used to do.
(h/t Washington Post)
