The spirit of a rookie player in his second year in the big leagues is amazing. I am determined to join the ‘dream 40 home runs – 40 stolen bases’ club in my second year. The main character is Pittsburgh Pirates’ big prospect O’Neal Cruz.
Cruise, along with Bae Ji-hwan, 스포츠토토was considered one of the Pittsburgh Minor’s infield prospects. And from the middle of last season, I seized my chance. He was the top beneficiary of the rebuilding team. In his rookie season, he showed promise by playing in 87 games, hitting 17 home runs and stealing 10 bases. If a shortstop with a heavy defensive burden shows this level of destructive power, it means that he has the potential to grow into a superstar who dominates the league in the future. The rarity of being a shortstop over 2m tall is enough to attract people’s attention.
Assuming Cruz played the full season, he could have 32 home runs and 19 stolen bases. With a record like this, you can secure a lot of first place votes in the MVP vote. But Cruise’s ambitions are even greater.
“I’m going beyond 30-30 and aiming for the 40-40 club this year,” said Cruz proudly.
30 home runs and 30 stolen bases have been recorded by 43 players in major league history. But 40-40 is one of those dream records signed by only four players: Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. Cruise is evaluated as having enough power and speed to challenge the record. In the game against the Atlanta Braves in August of last year, Cruz became the center of attention by hitting a missile with a speed of 197 km/h. It was the fastest speed since Major League Baseball began measuring exit velocity. That’s how good the power is.
“I’m not putting any kind of cap on him,” Pittsburgh hitting coach Andy Haynes explained. “You’re looking at a player who has the potential to be greater, and we saw that potential last season.”
The problem is three strikes. The foreshadowing is not good. Of the 277 hitters with at least 300 plate appearances last season, Cruz had the third most strikeouts. But Cruise is full of confidence. “It all comes from experience,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, I was swinging at balls out of the strike zone. I tried to show too much. Over the course of the season, I started to become a bigger player. I didn’t swing at balls that went out of the zone. “I started adjusting my game,” he said.
Cruz was a rookie who was not guaranteed to start at this time last year. However, if there are no accidents such as injuries, he will be the main shortstop this season. And how consistent he is will be key to the 40-40 challenge.