Lux off to a slow start in comeback from knee injury
A .172 average is not the start Gavin Lux envisioned. But even that beats sitting and watching everyone else play for a year.
“Honestly, I feel fine. I've had some bad luck – like yesterday, prime example,” Lux said, referring to an outstanding defensive play by Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner who robbed him of a hit during Friday's game. “I've had some unfortunate calls where I feel like I'm getting buried in the count a little bit.
“But honestly, 30 at-bats in, I didn't expect to hit .500 and everything. But I feel like the actual quality of the at-bats has been fine. I've been seeing the ball good. I don't feel sped up. So I feel like overall it's good. And I've kind of always been a slow starter anyways, so I'll just keep building on it, try to build momentum and go from there.”
After missing an entire season following his devastating knee injury in spring 2023, a slow start probably shouldn't be surprising. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wouldn't say he expected this. He's just trying to “kind of understand that baseball is hard” – particularly when you haven't faced big-league pitchers in a year.
“Gavin is fine. I still appreciate that it's been a whole year since he has played baseball, Major League Baseball,” Roberts said. “My message to Gavin is, I want you to control the strike zone like you do well, and use the big part of the field. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Lux said his knee feels fine though his body is still adjusting to “playing nine innings and the travel and everything again.”
But Lux has noticed one change in his swing.
“Some days I look at video and I say, `Man, I'm a lot taller and stifflegged on my landing than I used to be.'” said Lux, whose lead leg in his swing, his right, is the one he
CHICAGO >>
injured last spring. “
“Right now, I'm kind of reaching with my front leg and landing stiff and upright. Usually when I'm good, I'm landing and I'm in more of almost a basketball, guarding position. I've been working on that the last few days. It's something I've got to stay on top of. I probably should have noticed that sooner.”
That he has adjustments to make early in his comeback season is just part of returning to play, Lux acknowledged.
“Obviously I wish my first 30 at-bats I got 10 hits. But like I said, I didn't expect there to be no hiccups at all or to feel good every single day,” he said. “Facing bigleague pitching is already tough as (expletive). Just getting back into it, I think we'll build some momentum.”