EIGHT ACCOMPLI
Scorching Yanks stomp another lightweight behind Holliday, Monty
Matt Holliday celebrates with Pete Kozma (30) and Aaron Hicks after his three-run HR that sparked the Yankees to a 7-4 victory over the White Sox, their eighth straight win and the first for Jordan Montgomery.
Chase Headley’s earlyseason struggles were difficult, but he could handle personal disappointment. Been there, done that.
What frustrated the veteran third baseman more than his constant empty trips to the plate last April was what he felt it did to the team. The Yankees dug themselves an early hole in 2016, starting 8-16, and Headley put it on his shoulders.
“I started extremely poorly, and that contributed to the team starting bad,” he said Monday before the Yankees opened a three-game series with the White Sox at the Stadium with their eighth straight win, a 7-4 victory. “I knew I couldn’t start the way I started last year.”
He certainly hasn’t, keying the Yankees’ best start through 13 games (9-4) since 2010, when they began 10-3. Despite injuries to lineup linchpins Gary Sanchez (strained biceps) and Didi Gregorius (strained right shoulder), they are first in the American League in runs scored (67), a nod to the team’s surprising depth, and to a lesser extent the surprising production of Headley.
After going 1-for-4 with an RBI double Monday, he’s leading the team in batting average (.395), runs scored (12), and on-base percentage (.509), has five extra-base hits, two of them home runs, and has played a typically stellar third base. He’s also stolen three bases in as many attempts and is second in hits with 17.
“He’s done it all,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s the complete opposite of the way he started last year. It’s great to see, because we remember the struggles he went through last year, and how hard it was on him.”
It is quite the contrast from a year ago, when Headley batted .150 in April and didn’t get off the interstate until mid-May. He rebounded to finish the year hitting .251 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .712 OPS. But the start put him, and the Yankees, in a hole.
“You can’t just take a month and two weeks out of the season, and say, ‘ Oh, I had a season with the exception of this month and a half,’” the 32-year-old Headley said. “It counts.”
Headley has rarely gotten off to starts like this, a career .238 hitter in April over his previous eight seasons. He didn’t change much this offseason. He didn’t have a new workout regimen or begin hitting earlier. He didn’t have a great spring training, either, batting just .200 in 50 at-bats. And yet, Headley has started the season scorching hot.
“It’s a small sample size, but I feel like I’m playing the way I’m capable of,” he said. “I feel like I’m swinging at the pitches I want to, and that’s always a good place to start.
“You get a few hits, you get conf ident, and things can take off from there.”