Nice article about Shea.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/07/10/the_beat/
Great escape
Hillenbrand finding power stroke away from Fenway
Posted: Friday July 11, 2003 11:25 AM
By Jacob Luft, SI.com
It's a good thing Shea Hillenbrand isn't a home run hitter, or the NL West would really be in trouble.
When Arizona acquired the third baseman from Boston for Byung-Hyun Kim on May 29, there was a general consensus on what it was getting: a line-drive, contact hitter who provides an empty .290-.300 average. They weren't getting a power hitter. We had seen all he was capable of, and the stars had to align just right for him to even hit the paltry 18 home runs he had last year.
You think it might be time to start rethinking that assesment?
With apologies to Ichiro, Hillenbrand is hotter than two rats mating in a wool sock. He's batting .447 (17-for-38) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in July, including three home runs in three consecutive innings Monday against the Rockies.
Of course, he's not going to keep this up all season. Not even close. But a detailed look at Hillenbrand's career shows that his newfound power stroke might not be a complete fluke. More than anything, it most likely has to do with him getting away from Fenway Park.
In three-plus seasons with Boston, Hillenbrand batted .259 with 10 home runs at home. On the road, he was a .308 hitter with 23 home runs. (This is using a good sample size of 1,200-plus at-bats.) None of his nine home runs this season came in his 86 at-bats at Fenway Park.
Hillenbrand's line-drive swing simply isn't suited for big power numbers in Boston. He said as much after his three-homer explosion Monday, telling reporters "at least two of those homers would have been singles at Fenway Park."
Boston's David Ortiz made a similar comment last week after hitting five home runs in three road games last week. "I have to enjoy it when I'm not at Fenway. The Wall is killing me out there at Fenway," Ortiz said.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/07/10/the_beat/
Great escape
Hillenbrand finding power stroke away from Fenway
Posted: Friday July 11, 2003 11:25 AM
By Jacob Luft, SI.com
It's a good thing Shea Hillenbrand isn't a home run hitter, or the NL West would really be in trouble.
When Arizona acquired the third baseman from Boston for Byung-Hyun Kim on May 29, there was a general consensus on what it was getting: a line-drive, contact hitter who provides an empty .290-.300 average. They weren't getting a power hitter. We had seen all he was capable of, and the stars had to align just right for him to even hit the paltry 18 home runs he had last year.
You think it might be time to start rethinking that assesment?
With apologies to Ichiro, Hillenbrand is hotter than two rats mating in a wool sock. He's batting .447 (17-for-38) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in July, including three home runs in three consecutive innings Monday against the Rockies.
Of course, he's not going to keep this up all season. Not even close. But a detailed look at Hillenbrand's career shows that his newfound power stroke might not be a complete fluke. More than anything, it most likely has to do with him getting away from Fenway Park.
In three-plus seasons with Boston, Hillenbrand batted .259 with 10 home runs at home. On the road, he was a .308 hitter with 23 home runs. (This is using a good sample size of 1,200-plus at-bats.) None of his nine home runs this season came in his 86 at-bats at Fenway Park.
Hillenbrand's line-drive swing simply isn't suited for big power numbers in Boston. He said as much after his three-homer explosion Monday, telling reporters "at least two of those homers would have been singles at Fenway Park."
Boston's David Ortiz made a similar comment last week after hitting five home runs in three road games last week. "I have to enjoy it when I'm not at Fenway. The Wall is killing me out there at Fenway," Ortiz said.
