Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees runs the bases after hitting a second inning double against the Chicago White Sox on May 2 at Yankee Stadium.Jim McIsaac
Shrinking the strike zone has enabled Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano to grow into a monster at the plate, New York batting coach Kevin Long said about the American League's first 2010 Player of the Month.
Cano, who proclaimed his promise by batting a lofty .342 as a second-year player in 2006, seems determined to realize his potential after an opening month in which he hit a major league-best .400 with eight homers -- a lethal combination of power and average.
"He's eliminated some holes," Long told Reuters in the Yankees dugout before Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. "When you shrink the strike zone and swing at pitches on the plate you become a much better hitter."
Long, who travelled to the Dominican Republic for an off-season week of intensive work with Cano before the 2009 season, said the second baseman from the baseball hotbed of San Pedro de Macoris has also made some technical adjustments.
"All those things combined have factored into that monster that we see right now," he said.
Hot starts are nothing new in baseball, but when a sizzling bat is wielded by someone of Cano's calibre, experts notice.
"He's maturing, getting comfortable in the big leagues," Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson said as he watched batting practice. "He's caught up to his body. He's big and he's strong. He's got big hands. He's a great defender.
"He's a big-time player."
In the visiting team's dugout, Orioles third baseman Miguel Tejada said he was not surprised by the success of the 27-year-old Cano.
"When Cano was a rookie I knew he was going to be like that," six-time all-star Tejada said. "When I played with him in winter ball in the Dominican I saw he was a kid that would be improving and improving and he's showing that."
Jeff Nelson, the reliever who won four World Series rings with the Yanks from 1996-2000, said being installed in the fifth slot of a formidable pinstripe lineup was also a boost.
"You see a lot of confidence," said Nelson, now a broadcaster for MLB Network. "I think being around (Derek) Jeter, and you have A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) and (Mark) Teixeira hitting ahead of you, you're getting a lot of opportunity learning from those guys.
"Seems like he's relaxed a lot more."
Cano has shown the ability to drive the ball to all fields since he debuted in the majors, but his natural ability to strike the ball led to a lack of discipline that saw him slump to a .271 average with 14 homers and just 26 walks in 2008.
Jackson, a Yankees adviser, said that was a turning point, noting, "There was a lot of learning in '08 for him."
Long spent a winter week with Cano for a private tutorial.
"You gotta know when you're swinging at a pitch out of the strike zone that that pitch is up," Long said, using a high delivery as an example.
"Where before he's like, 'I can hit that pitch.' Well, you might be able to hit it but what are you able to do with that pitch? Are you able to drive it over the fence? Are you able to drive it into the gap?"
All the nagging about laying off bad pitches has paid off. "Now he becomes irritated when he swings at a bad pitch and is making a quick adjustment," added Long.
Taking a walk instead of hacking at poor pitches improves the batting average and selectivity gets Cano juicier pitches to hit when pitchers fall behind in the count.
"If he gets 50, 60 walks, he'll hit .350," Jackson said. "Even his outs are hit hard."