Gibson happy with Chris Young’s approach for 2012
Apr 3, 2012, 3:45 AM | Updated: 4:45 am
Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young capped off his spring season at Salt River Fields with a home run on Monday against the Cubs and he also put a home run on the board Sunday against the Dodgers.
“It felt good,” said Young. “Spring has been a lot of fun this year but it’s time to get to the real thing.”
Young seems to be finding his groove at the right time with the regular season starting on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. He’s hitting .407 this spring with 24 hits in 59 at-bats with ten walks. Manager Kirk Gibson has noticed a difference in Young.
“He’s swinging the bat great,” said Gibson. “I’ve told you guys all spring what he’s been working on. He’s just better equipped to hit more pitches, different speeds, in and away.”
Young’s defensive abilities in center field were tough to match in 2011 but, offensively, there was room for improvement. Young hit .236 with an on-base percentage of .331 last season.
“He’s going to be much harder to defend,” said Gibson. “Yeah, he’s had a great spring. He’s been out in the cage early, he’s been able to take it into batting practice and then into the game.”
Young and the rest of his teammates are ready to get going and see what they can do in games that actually count.
“We had a great time over here at Salt River but it will be really nice to sleep in tomorrow, get back over to Chase Field, get our fan base back over there and get ready for day one,” said Young.
