Mark Canha is aware of that he hasn’t produced on the identical fee in 2023 that he did in 2022, and even on the fee he did when he was with the Oakland A’s. But the excellent news is that he’s seeing the indicators of a turnaround.
The Mets outfielder got here into Tuesday’s collection towards the Philadelphia Phillies slashing simply .233/.318/.360 with a .678 OPS, which is sort of 100 factors under his 2023 OPS (.769), and his 89 OPS+ would point out that he has been producing at a below-average fee.
Canha has been specializing in the method as a substitute of the outcomes, which has typically been irritating, however he’s seeing indicators of progress.
Over his final 5 video games, he’s gone 4-for-14 with 4 walks. He had a four-game hit streak earlier than going 0-for-2 with two walks Sunday in Denver in the course of the Mets’ 11-10 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
“I’m working on things,” Canha advised the Daily News. “I’m trying to identify that there’s something that needs to be fixed and trying to address it. And there’s an element of that where I have to stay within myself and try to kind of stay on the tracks toward progressing to where I want to go and not try to get there too quickly and rush the process. I’m just working through stuff.”
One of the principle issues Canha is attempting to work by way of is limiting his head motion on the plate. It’s a behavior that he has fallen into previously, however there’s a motive for that. At occasions, the pinnacle motion is a byproduct of explosive actions. Canha needs his swing to be explosive. He needs to hit for energy and he needs to hit in a method that permits the ball to blow up off the bat.
But with a view to barrel the ball, the motion must be managed.
“It’s always something you want to think about, I think it’s a body control thing,” Canha mentioned. “And sometimes that’s an issue for me. Controlling my body in an explosive way, it’s kind of hard for me because I do tend to be explosive and kind of whip my body around in ways that it gets me out. So it’s like controlled violence that I’m kind of trying to work on within the swing. But yeah, it’s been an issue for me throughout my career, something that I constantly work on.”
Canha isn’t attempting to utterly demolish his swing, however he needs to rebuild it from the bottom up. The 34-year-old is aware of that he can have success on the plate along with his swing as a result of he’s had success with it previously. The purpose is to get rid of this behavior with a view to discover a way more refined swing.
“It’s hard, it’s so hard when the results aren’t there,” Canha mentioned. “You want to flip the script and just throw everything out and start fresh and try something else. But I’m trying to be methodical about the way I’m working.”
The Mets aren’t apprehensive about Canha as a result of they know the way he works. They belief that the work he’s placing in with the hitting coaches within the batting cages and reviewing video will repay. They know the way badly he needs to contribute and desires to assist the Mets win by getting on base and driving in runs.
“Mark is a guy that’s so easy to trust,” mentioned supervisor Buck Showalter. “He always wins a tiebreaker when you’re doing lineups because he’s so prepared. He’s going to seek his level.”
Canha is attempting to remain constructive and preserve working as a result of he’s assured that the method will finally flip into higher outcomes. The walks and the hits are good, however further bases and residential runs are what he thinks he’s able to.
“I’m trying to go out there and just keep it simple,” he mentioned. “Sometimes it takes time for things to click. I’m kind of in that waiting period where I’m like, ‘Alright, when is it gonna click?’ In the meantime, just go out there, compete to the best of your ability, be present in the moment, be focused on the game, who’s on the mound, and what my goal is each and every at-bat and kind of take it slow, and just kind of let the game come to me.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com