He solely placed on the batting glove as a result of he needed to.
He by no means makes use of them. But now he had sutures in his left hand, and he simply wanted one thing to guard himself from the “gnarly” cuts.
Orioles outfielder Austin Hays is old skool. Normally he holds the bat along with his naked fingers, rubbing the clay on the bottom between his palms to provide him some form of grip. But the accidents on his left hand from when he was stepped on with a cleat whereas sliding headfirst into first base in a May 12 recreation towards the St. Louis Cardinals compelled, nicely, his hand.
Glove or not, all the things appears to be working proper now for Hays on the plate.
Hays’ return from that hand harm marked the primary time he’d worn a batting glove since he was 10 years outdated. And with that glove on, he’s put collectively the longest energetic hitting streak within the American League at 13 video games. Seattle’s Ty France — the earlier AL chief — was one of many few standing within the reverse dugout who didn’t contribute Thursday night time, going 0-for-5 to finish his 13-game hitting streak within the Mariners’ 7-6 victory over the Orioles in 10 innings.
“He’s getting consistent at-bats,” Orioles supervisor Brandon Hyde mentioned of Hays after the sport. “Seeing a guy in his third or fourth year making adjustments and swinging the bat extremely well. He’s playing really good baseball right now.”
Hays’ first hit Thursday to maintain the streak going? A jammed, dribbling floor ball up the center at a scorching 66.5 mph, precisely the sort of good bounce that appears to observe him proper now. And precisely the sort of hand-stinging contact that harm essentially the most early on.
Mostly, the harm’s healed now; Hays’ first-inning single didn’t harm like it might have every week in the past. What’s left continues to be a big however principally healed reduce on the again of his hand. The glove retains it from getting worse.
It had been over 15 years since Hays final used two batting gloves, not to mention only one. Yet since he’s put it on, his hitting streak adopted.
“It was multiple cuts on the hand, and he’s a really tough kid, to be able to just put a glove on and say, ‘I can play through,’ it shows you the toughness he has and the will to play,” Hyde mentioned. “And he wants to play.”
To play, Hays places a pad on his left pinky and wraps it with tape. The batting glove then goes over all of it as one other layer of safety.
Hays, although, has no superstition. He mentioned it’s simply sticking to what was already working earlier than the harm. The three video games he missed didn’t alter his rhythm. He was already hitting .291 on May 13, the day he received stepped on.
“I just continue to pick up where I left off, especially against right-handed pitchers,” Hays mentioned earlier than Thursday’s recreation. “Keeping their offspeed stuff in the zone and being ready to hit from the first pitch of the at-bat. Not letting them get away with throwing balls over the heart of the plate.”
Hays batted .303 between May 1 and June 1 with 30 hits in 27 video games. In these 27 video games, the rebuilding Orioles (22-31) had a successful report, going 15-12. During this 13-game streak, Hays is batting .340.
With a second RBI single within the third inning Thursday, Hays’ season batting common jumped again above .300 for the second time this season. He went 2-for-5 on the night time with a run and two RBIs.
The 13-game hitting streak is the longest of the season for Hays and only a few behind his career-long streak of 17 from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11 final season.
But Hays’ one-gloved look isn’t going to final. A hitting streak isn’t going to alter that. He mentioned the second he feels able to bat barehanded once more, he’ll. He’s made progress up to now three weeks, however that point hasn’t come but.
And whereas he’s getting used to the glove, he nonetheless doesn’t prefer it.
“At the end of the day, batting glove or no batting glove, I’m the same guy,” Hays mentioned.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com