Derek Jeter working hard in Florida; Tyler Colvin unfazed by freak accident
The New York Yankees are aiming high for the coming season but the question on everyone’s mind is whether they have the right set of players to bring the World Series trophy home or not. Derek Jeter, captain of the club, was a
usual member of the team but his contribution as a shortstop in the batting line-up did not produce the kind of runs the club would have hoped to avail in 2010.
The captain, however, was instrumental in gaining leverage over the opposition in terms of fielding. He was awarded with a Gold Glove and that speaks volumes about his fitness. However, the time for fun and games has ended and
Major League Baseball is about to kick off in April. For Jeter, things haven’t changed since last year. The team and the players need to work harder if they want the accolades at the end of the season.
Derek Jeter is on to starting the year with a good round of training in the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, Florida. After signing a $51 million deal put forward by co-owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, it appears the captain is making
the most of his days count as spring training dawns on the schedule. General Manager Brian Cashman has been talking about the club in great lengths recently and the crowd has asked a lot about Jeter, this time around.
He’s been working hard in Florida and hitting Coach Kevin Long is also in the mix to get the player up to date with his fitness. His batting average is what will be the focus of the training session. His figures went down to .270
and with a contribution of a slugging percentage of .370, his role could seriously be under threat in the coming season.
"You'd like to think that last year was a hiccup," Jeter said in December. "But it's my job to go out there and prove that it was. I understand any concerns that anyone has, especially talking about from an organizational standpoint.
I'm sure they have had concerns about a lot of people through the years. It's my job to go out and change that opinion."
On the other hand, there has been word from Tyler Colvin, who’s been preparing for the Chicago Cubs campaign recently. The 25-year-old has been working hard to get in shape for the new tenure and his main focus has been in piling
up on training and gathering his skills.
During last year’s campaign, the outfielder delivered a batting average of .254, while pouncing with a remarkable slugging percentage of .500. His 20 home runs and 56 Runs Batted In offer testament to his ability on the plate.
However, one thing will be on his mind and it related to the freakish batting accident. During a game last year, he was hit with a broken maple bat while on third base. He suffered a ruptured lung during the game but was able to lead the Cubs to a run against
the Florida Marlins.
Coach Rudy Jaramillo was able to talk of Tyler’s preparation and his mindset for the coming campaign.
"He has to keep improving and obviously get (better pitch) recognition," Jaramillo said. "That's with the lower half. His power numbers were good, his RBIs were good, his on-base percentage has to be better and his strikeouts have
to go down. Generally that's with everybody. Nowadays, guys strike out so much, everybody kind of overlooks it, but I think you need to back up and say, 'Why are you striking out so much? What's the cause of it? Let's have a plan to try to improve that with
everybody on the team.'"
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