Adjustments help Young get off to hot start
Apr 17, 2012, 9:37 PM | Updated: 10:46 pm
If you look at the leaders among the triple crown
categories in the National League, you’ll find only two
players who are in the top five in all three: Dodgers’
outfielder Matt Kemp and Diamondbacks’ center
fielder Chris Young.
Young, a career .242 hitter, joined Doug and Wolf on
Arizona Sports 620 Tuesday to explain the difference
between what he’s done previously at the plate and how
he’s approaching things this season.
“I tried to find a way to slow things down at the plate
and create a little more rhythm,” Young said.
“Coincidentally, my hands ended up raising up a little bit
and I ended up using them a little bit better.”
We’ll say. Young has hit safely in nine of his first ten
games this season, and his 3-run homer was a key to Monday
night’s 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“I’m just going out there and trying to stay relaxed and
have fun with the game,” he said. “The team’s been doing
well so it makes it a lot easier when all the momentum is
going our way. You get a chance to play loose and do your
thing.”
That loose demeanor is showing at the plate for Young,
whose 13 runs batted in are the third-most in baseball and
the fourth-highest total in the first ten games of the
season in D-backs history.