Red Sox: Adjustments working for Hanley Ramirez at the plate
By Sean Penney
Boston Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez‘s early season success at the plate can be attributed to alterations he made to his swing.
The Boston Red Sox are only two games into the season thus far, but Hanley Ramirez is already seeing improved results over last year’s disastrous campaign.
Forget about his defense. Ramirez’s cringe-worthy efforts in the outfield last season forced the Red Sox to transition him to yet another new position, but he’s been passable at first base so far. What has really opened people’s eyes in the early going is how much better his swing looks.
Ramirez is 4-for-8 with a home run through two games in Cleveland, following a promising spring where he hit .321 with an .870 OPS.
More from Red Sox News
- Red Sox Nation deserves far more from Fenway Sports Group
- Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
He got off to a similarly hot start last season, blasting 10 home runs with a 1.000 OPS in April, but his production plummeted after he injured his shoulder running into a wall in early May. While the injury only knocked him out of the lineup for a few days, it sapped his swing of the power he showed in the opening month of the season. Ramirez never fully recovered, finishing the season with a .717 OPS that stood as his lowest since an injury-plagued 2011 season.
Now healthy, Ramirez is back to driving the ball with authority, but that’s not the only explanation for his improvement. The 32-year old explained that he spent time in the offseason studying his swing, which led to him making adjustments that are now paying off.
"“I was watching the videos and saw that my front shoulder was flying a lot, most of the time,” Ramirez told MassLive’s Jen McCaffrey. “When I came to spring training I told (hitting coach) Chili (Davis) I just want to keep that front shoulder in and go from there. After I found my approach that made my swing shorter and quicker.”"
During Wednesday’s broadcast on NESN, color analyst Jerry Remy pointed out the differences in Ramirez’s swing from a year ago. He has eliminated the high leg kick, which has allowed him to keep his head steady to avoid altering his line of sight as the pitch approaches. Ramirez is also keeping the bat in tighter to his shoulder as he sets up to create more of an upright stance.
Ramirez admitted that he was trying too hard to hit more home runs last year. Now his swing is more compact, which allows him to hit the ball to all fields. Instead of swinging for the fences, Ramirez is swinging to get a hit. Sometimes that will lead to a line drive that rockets out of the park, like he did on Wednesday against Cleveland Indians starter Carlos Carrasco. Other times it will be an opposite field single, but the end result will be much better than where he finished in 2015.
The record pace that Ramirez began last season on may have fooled some, perhaps even himself, into thinking that he should be blasting 30+ homers every year. That’s not who he is. Through 10 full seasons in the big leagues, Ramirez has only surpassed 25 home runs in a season twice, only once topping 30.
Next: Red Sox preview at Toronto Blue Jays
The sample size may be minuscule, but the early returns show that the adjustments Ramirez made are working. If he can continue to follow through with his altered swing without falling into the same traps he succumbed to last year, perhaps we’ll see the return of the All-Star caliber hitter that the Red Sox thought they were getting.