Rangers’ Michael Young displaying considerable power lately
July 23, 2010 at 8:25 PM by AHN · Leave a Comment
Arlington, TX, United States (AHN) – While he’s established a well-earned reputation as an outstanding batter, Michael Young has never been considered a power-hitter. That may be changing.
His first-inning home run Friday night staked the Texas Rangers to an early 1-0 lead and C.J. Wilson’s sparkling pitching performance made it stand up as the Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1-0.
The blast, off a 3-2 pitch that sailed into the Angels’ bullpen beyond the left-center field wall, marked the second straight game that Young belted a first-inning solo shot. He now has seven home runs in his last 29 contests.
Young nearly made it two home runs in a row when he drilled one high off the wall in right-center in his next at-bat in the third inning, instead settling for a double.
The man himself, who won the American League batting title in 2005 with a career-high .331 batting average, denies that he’s tried to add more power lately.
“Not at all, I try and hit the ball as hard as I possibly can every time I go to the plate,”said Young, who’s topped 20 home runs in a season just three times in his 10-year career, with a high of 24 in 2005. “There’s nothing I change in my approach at all, every time I go up there, I’m trying to hit the ball as hard as I can.”
Still, the man knows when to come through in the clutch. Texas is now 12-2 this season when he goes deep.
“This is always the time of the year that Michael gets going,” said Rangers manager Ron Washington. “As the season gets longer and everyone else is beginning to feel the grind of the season, Michael is just now starting to pour it on. Last night, he got us on the board first and tonight he did the same thing. I can’t say enough about him.”
“He rises to the occasion,” added Texas outfielder David Murphy. “He’s a great player and he’s a big-game player. He’s shown it the last two nights – that’s why he’s Michael Young and been an All-Star for a long time and just an incredible player.”
The seven-time AL All-Star, who is already the Rangers’ franchise hits leader at age 33, raised his average up to .302 with his big night, while ranking in the AL’s top five in both hits (120) and total bases (194) this year.
“I don’t know, I’m not really going to over-analyze it too much,” Young said of his recent long-ball success. “I’m just going to keep going up there and doing the same thing.”
That’s all the Rangers can hope for.
