When Jose Trevino discovered that the Yankees had been going to have Isiah Kiner-Falefa play the outfield in spring coaching, the catcher hardly appeared stunned.
“Izzy’s the type of guy that, you tell him to run through a brick wall, he’ll ask you, ‘Which one?’” Trevino stated on the time.
A teammate with the Rangers and Yankees, Trevino got here up by means of the minors with Kiner-Falefa. He watched as the center infielder adjusted to 3rd, tried his hand on the outfield and realized to catch as a prospect. Kiner-Falefa even spent 4 innings enjoying first base at Double-A, however the catching expertise helped him stick within the majors, as he spent 73 video games receiving for Texas from 2018-2019.
The Rangers wanted a backup backstop, and Kiner-Falefa eagerly took the job.
“He embraces everything,” Willie Calhoun, one other previous and current teammate, stated after Kiner-Falefa hit a walk-off single towards the Padres on Saturday. “It’s fun to watch, and he’s always been that way.”
Kiner-Falefa took the identical method in camp this 12 months when it grew to become clear he would lose the Yankees’ beginning shortstop job. He held that place final season, his first in pinstripes, however his protection damage the group, and prospect Oswald Peraza began a couple of playoff video games over the veteran.
Anthony Volpe finally received the shortstop gig this spring, however the Yankees requested Kiner-Falefa to study the outfield and put together for a brilliant utility position properly earlier than the rookie made the group.
“I don’t think my numbers last year were good enough to hold the spot,” Kiner-Falefa lately stated of shortstop. “So it is what it is. I didn’t do good enough last year. I was given another opportunity to be here, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to show what I can do and prove why I’m here.”
Entering Monday, Kiner-Falefa has spent 202 innings between all three outfield positions and 61 innings on the sizzling nook. He additionally logged a scoreless inning of aid in a blowout loss on April 13, and he’s practiced behind the plate for emergency conditions.
“What a gamer. He’s played multiple positions now. Hasn’t complained once,” stated DJ LeMahieu, who isn’t any stranger to versatility. “What a great teammate and great guy to have on the team.”
Kiner-Falefa has really performed each place aside from first on the main league stage. He considers {that a} badge of honor.
“I love this game. I love being a baseball player,” Kiner-Falefa stated. “It doesn’t need to be one position. It doesn’t need to be just shortstop, just second. I like to be called a baseball player. So I feel like the more positions you play, the more of a baseball player you are, so that’s kind of what I like to do.”
In addition to enhancing within the outfield, Kiner-Falefa has additionally discovered some success on the plate whereas usually enjoying towards lefties and a few hard-throwing righties. Considered a lightweight hitter with sturdy contact abilities, the right-side swinger has loved a little bit of an influence surge recently, getting into Monday with a .292 common, 5 extra-base hits – together with three house runs – and 6 RBI over his final 9 video games.
For comparability, Kiner-Falefa hit .182 with two doubles and two RBI over his first 30 video games.
“I’ve noticed in batting practice, he’s actually driving the ball more,” Aaron Boone stated. “He’s been putting together some really, really impactful at-bats over the last several starts.”
While the pattern is small, Kiner-Falefa attributed his sizzling streak to 3 particular components.
The first is the reintroduction of a leg kick to his hitting mechanics, which he utilized in Texas. That’s been serving to him drive the ball extra, as has a heavier body, or what Kiner-Falefa calls his “third base body.”
He spent most of final season at 180 kilos, a weight he landed on in preparation for enjoying shortstop on the Rangers’ turf area earlier than two March trades introduced him to New York. Kiner-Falefa began to place weight again on final September – he hit a season-high three homers that month – and he’s now about 195 kilos.
The third issue has been a greater understanding of his duties over time. Kiner-Falefa stated he “wasn’t really clear on what exactly my role was” earlier this season, however now he is aware of when to count on enjoying time and the forms of pitchers he’ll face.
That data permits him to profit from the times he’s not within the lineup.
“Those days off, sometimes they suck, but at the same time, they’re opportunities for me to work with the coaches and keep progressing,” Kiner-Falefa stated. “So as much as I want to be in there every day, those opportunities when I’m down, if I’m grinding and using them the right way, they’re really helping me develop my swing and giving me opportunities to keep getting better.”
That work has included efforts to maximise Kiner-Falefa’s energy, however he thought-about returning to his “spray” and “slap” type of hitting when he didn’t see outcomes earlier this season.
The Yankees satisfied him to belief the method, although, as inner metrics confirmed he was hitting the ball tougher than ever. Publicly accessible stats, akin to hard-hit share and exit velocity, say the identical.
“Which is funny,” stated Kiner-Falefa, who’s slashing .208/.259/.347 this 12 months, “because it’s like the worst numbers I’ve ever had in my career with the best hitting metrics I’ve ever had in my career. They kind of just told me stick with it. And I started hitting the ball harder and harder. And then, eventually, they started going out. So they kind of swayed me to keep going, because I did have that moment.”
Precedent would counsel that asking Kiner-Falefa to vary doesn’t require a lot persuasion, as tweaks and new positions have by no means been met with resistance. That stays simply as true now because it was when the 28-year-old was attempting to cling to an enormous league roster earlier in his profession.
Kiner-Falefa has jumped at each and any position thrown his means, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by these round him.
“You get character reveals all the time in this game, because you’re gonna face rough waters, you’re gonna face adversity,” Boone stated. “It reveals itself, and what it’s revealed is a man that wishes to exit and be a part of a group, and be a part of a successful group, and be a part of it right here and stick his nostril in there and get higher on a regular basis.
“Just a credit to him and the character he’s shown us ever since we got him.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com