The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Put him in coach, he’s ready to play
It happens to virtually every rookie in Major League Baseball — he gets called up from the minors, tears to cover off the ball and then, as time goes on, pitchers find a hole in his swing.
Indians center fielder Bradley Zimmer is no exception to the rule.
Zimmer got the call-up from Triple-A Columbus in time to play nine games in May last year. He batted .306 with 11 hits in 36 atbats that month. His numbers started to decline like the stock market in a bad summer — he hit .282 in June, .277 in July and then tumbled to .141 in August when he managed only 10 hits in 71 at-bats with no home runs and only two RBI.
September was more of the same. He was hitting .150 with no RBI in 20 atbats when on Sept. 10 he broke his left hand diving into first trying to avoid a tag by Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. Davis tagged Zimmer out and inadvertently stepped on the rookie’s hand. The injury ended Zimmer’s season.
Zimmer’s hand is fine. The good news out of spring training is Zimmer seems to have his groove back, or at least it’s ticking upward. He hit .239 in the Cactus League with three homers and four RBI in 46 at-bats.
“I think he looks more and more like a veteran every day,” manager Terry Francona told reporters covering spring training. “The way he’s played center field (is impressive). He’s learning about himself at the plate as he goes. He’s got unbelievable power. He’s growing into it. He’s ready to go.”
At 6-foot-5 with long legs, Zimmer goes from first to second quickly once he gets moving. He has stolen three bases this spring without being thrown out. He stole 18 bases last season and was caught once.
“I just want to build off last year,” Zimmer said. “A lot of good things happened. Some not-so-good things happened, too. I want to embrace both ends of that and use it as motivation.
“I’m really looking forward to this year. I think it will be a fun season. We have a very similar look to the team. We have a couple new additions, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The Indians won 102 games last season, the most in the American League. But they were bounced out of the playoffs by the Yankees in five games in the ALDS.
The plan is to bat Zimmer in the lower third of the batting order because if he gets on base in front of a power hitter and then steals second, the opposing pitcher might be apt to walk
the slugger behind Zimmer with first base open. Zimmer batted eighth the majority of the time last year and hit .269 in that slot with three home runs and 11 RBI. He stole seven bases when batting eighth.
Zimmer is outstanding patrolling center field. He covers ground quickly and played errorless ball last season while recording 168 putouts.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Zimmer said. “I love this team. I love being here. I’m extremely excited for this year. I take a lot of pride in every aspect of my game, but I think (defense) is overlooked for some guys. I put in just as much work defensively as I do on the bases and at the plate. It’s something I’ll continue to work on. Hopefully this season I’ll make better plays and save more runs.”
Zimmer last season threw out eight runners who got a little greedy trying to test his arm.