Hanley Ramirez is fine at third-base but struggles on the plate - MLB Update
With Jose Reyes into the line-up, Hanley Ramirez had to renounce his shortstop position for the Miami Marlins. Although being pushed off from the place where one has developed mastery over the years was hard on Ramirez, he obeyed the teams’ decision and
switched to third-base.
Showing a thorough professionalism, he spent time with his trainer and added necessary skills to be successful at third-base. More than one month into the season and by looking at his plays at third-base, one can understand how successfully he has adjusted
to his new position.
So far he has made just one error, while Jose Reyes on the other hand is becoming worse after every game. Even the Marlins as a team have not been the best of the sides in terms of making plays.
While he has shown class at third-base, on the plate performance has not seen reflection of it. Unable to provide the kind of hits needed during initial few innings, he has struggled along with rest of the hitters.
Batting average of .213 and on-base-percentage of .296 that he has maintained in the season are less than his career .303 and .377 respectively.
Humble in admitting his immediate assumption of the role and turning out excellent, he trivialises impact of changes in position on the park with his performance. Practice is what matters the most and once all areas are covered, there is nothing that can
stop a player from performing well, he says.
“For me, I feel like I can play anywhere,” he said. “It’s about practice. When you do your thing, you’re going to get better and that’s what I’m doing right now. I don’t take anything for granted. I go out there every day and continue to work.”
Season is still at its nascent stage and jumping on any logical conclusion about a player will be pre-mature.
A task at-hand for Ramirez is to become a consistent hitter for his side and load-bases, along with shortstop Reyes.
In order to protect his spot at top of the order in line-up, his hitting has to improve. Otherwise, what has happened with out-fielder, Emilio Bonifacio, as he plays down in the innings now, cannot be ruled out for him.
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