Simmons is getting on base but wants to do even more
DETROIT — It has become a common sight in recent days. Newly installed leadoff hitter Andrelton Simmons will hit a routine groundout or flyout, grab his bat by the barrel, and fling it to the grass in disgust before running to first base.
The Angels’ field staff saw enough signs of frustration to feel compelled to meet with Simmons this week and remind him he need not attempt to become the type of hitter he is not.
“We talked to him about four days ago: Just play your game,” manager Mike Scioscia said Thursday. “He gets on base enough. He’s not a prototypical on-base guy, but he does get on base, and when he’s hitting the ball well, there’s a lot of different spots he can hit in the lineup.”
Aside from the lapses of anger, Simmons is performing well as the club’s leadoff hitter.
He has not struck out in eight games atop the Angels’ lineup, coinciding with Cameron Maybin’s disabled-list stint — and, roughly, Mike Trout’s.
But his effectiveness stretches back further. In fact, in his last 21 games, Simmons has struck out just twice and earned 10 walks. After his three-hit game Thursday, Simmons is hitting .276 with a .339 on-base percentage and .401 slugging percentage. The latter two marks would be career-bests in a full season.
Since launching 17 home runs in a surprise 2013, Simmons had settled into a high-contact, low-walk, lowpower career arc, but he’s making harder contact this season.
And his better performance has carried with it his own increasing expectations.
“Having a good idea of what to do that at-bat and getting pitches that I feel like I should do better with and not doing it, that makes me a little angry,” Simmons said.
Scioscia said he understood that Simmons would at times feel “like a square peg in a round hole,” and hoped to convey that it was OK to remain a peg.
“You want guys, when they’re hitting in different spots, to just be you,” Scioscia said. “You don’t have to change your game. We’re trying to fit where your talent lies. He’s hit fifth for us. He’s led off. He’s multidimensional.”
Scioscia said Simmons might need to continue in his role for the foreseeable future, until the Angels’ lineup “resets.”
“And it’s probably not going to fully reset until Mike gets back,” the manager said.
Short hops
Maybin, out with a bruised oblique, hit for the second consecutive day and again reported feeling great. He is eligible to be activated Friday. “We’ll see what he needs tomorrow,” Scioscia said. … Scioscia said there were no updates on the statuses of injured relievers Cam Bedrosian and Huston Street.