Today at the Complex :
One of the rule changes going into effect this coming season for all sites is the use of larger bases. Field maintenance crews will have to re-align the base pegs that hold the bases to accommodate the new dimensions. It doesn’t effect the minor league diamonds so much as the larger and flatter bases were deployed last season however a few of the Clearwater Complex fields still needed adjusting. Ashburn Field ( which is the primary complex field for the major leaguers during spring training ) went thru the base adjustment the last few days - our crack photography crew caught glimpses of the new bases, the installation work and the subsequent peg placement 😂 - photo collage below - all in a day’s work for our reporting endeavors - btw the Carpenter Complex grounds crew does a really nice job - no matter the task.
A couple hours of hitting this morning - hitters were challenged with delivering results in rounds where simulated game situations were different each round, e.g. runner on third - corners in but middle infielders back, runner on second - nobody out, etc. Hitters were instructed where it was optimum to drive the baseball and given expectancies - e.g. ground ball to move the runner or a drive up the middle or a fly ball, line drives to the gaps always welcome 😎. It’s a game of repetitive mechanics - incorporating baseball acumen into the hitting mindset for each AB builds team accomplishment and winning baseball as a byproduct. Good stuff.
I’m a broken record in this statement but Carlos De La Cruz has been crushing it - yes it’s January however the big fella is already locked in it seems - smoked one well beyond the left field fence today on Roberts Field with an easy swing and in his BP rounds seemed able to drive the baseball at will for each situation and to whatever field he chose. Hao Yu Lee is another young player who continues to impress as a hitter every time I see him - he’s gotten bigger and stronger physically it seems and uses his hands to get quickly and forcefully thru his swing as well as anyone - seemingly always hits the ball hard. Catchers Gustavo Sosa and Jordan Dissin impressed as well - Sosa has a thick build and gets after it - Dissin, at least in my observations this week, generates big time bat speed - both young men show the ability to drive the baseball out of the yard. But hey - I’m just an observer so take that in account 🥸.
Back at em tomorrow however it may be an inside work day as rain is in the forecast.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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New bases on Ashburn Field
Hao Yu Lee & Gustavo Sosa
I hope the paint is dry on the freshly painted Security Shed before the rain starts.