Herrera heats up again, to the wonder of others
PHILADELPHIA » He might be a generation removed from his managerial predecessor, but Gabe Kapler has been around the major leagues for a long time. Though as skilled at hyperbole as he was at frequently overachieving as a player, you tend to believe Kapler’s reaction to what Odubel Herrera does as very genuine.
While predecessor Pete Mackanin often referenced Herrera with a fond yet frustrated tone, for the most part Kapler has dealt with a very different Odubel Herrera. This version is one of the best all-around players in the major leagues.
The legend of Whoa-du-bel continued Wednesday when he buried a ball deep into the right field seats in the seventh inning, making good on a 4-3 win over the Cardinals. It registered as the fourth home run in as many games for the one-time Rule 5 pickup player, and fifth homer in six games.
All this as part of a run of seven games in which Herrera called a halt to an ongoing slump by going 13-for-31 (.419) with five homers, two doubles and eight RBIs.
Now with two hot streaks and one slump to his 2018 resume — there’s rarely an in-between for this guy — Herrera is back up to .299 with an .846 OPS. That and the routine groundbreaking catches he makes in centerfield should have him in the thick of the All-Star balloting this season.
It’s also drawing some interesting intra-clubhouse comparisons.
“He draws a comparison for me to Vladimir Guerrero. He’s got tremendous eye-hand coordination, he’s able to put the barrel of the bat on really good pitches, which is very unique, especially with the way his setup is and the way he’s got a pretty large leg kick,” Jake Arrieta said of Herrera. “And he’s able to stay balanced and square it up, so he’s a different breed. And when he gets hot, it’s extremely fun to watch.”
“For me it’s a little like Ichiro (Suzuki), but a different kind of Ichiro,” Kapler said of the centerfielder who likes to be known as “El Torito.” “It doesn’t matter where the baseball is, like last night, it bounced and he hit it off the ground, right? It’s a unique bat-to-ball skill. The power is similar. Ichiro had the kind of power that Odubel does. But they’re different styles of hitters. Not that different, though.”
Herrera would like to wind up like Ichiro — with legendary status.
“It’s amazing to hear that, because Ichiro is a legend,” Herrera said. “To be compared to someone like him is an honor. It’s great.
“It’s actually very satisfying to be
compared to legends like them. Because that means maybe one day I can be one, too.” A legend? “I’m coming, I’m coming,” Herrera joked.
At least, he might have been joking.
*** Getting his first save of the season and of his career was none other than Adam Morgan.
Morgan, who hit a season low point when he gave up a walk-off grand slam in a 7-5 loss in Chicago June 6, has been slowly trying to work his way back into form. Kapler gave him a boost of confidence Wednesday, calling on him to pitch to left-handed troublemaker Matt Carpenter in the ninth inning.
Carpenter popped a foul that Maikel Franco made a terrific, backhanded catch on. Then the manager left Morgan in against right-handed hitting Tommy Pham, who grounded out to Scott Kingery at short.
“He displayed what we saw in spring training and what we saw last year — the ‘I can get through left and I can get through right,’ (mentality),” Kapler said. “He had a lot of poise, a lot of confidence and we went with our guy there.”
More than a few fans loudly let Kapler know their displeasure when he brought in Morgan, though the reliever claims to not have noticed.
“Congratulations to him on that,” Arrieta said. “Getting booed is tough but we’re professional athletes that play at the highest level and people expect great things from us, as we do of ourselves.”
On this day, Morgan would answer the call, earning his first career save.
“It feels good,” he said. “It feels good to get a win. It feels good to go out there in any situation and succeed.”