San Diego Padres’ Will Venable satisfied with outcome of changes in technique last season - MLB
Will Venable of the San Diego Padres last Spring Training decided to listen to someone else for a change. It was the hitting coach for the San Diego ballclub Phil Plantier and it worked rather well for the left-hander as he produced his career best numbers
last season.
The 29-year-old understands the importance of the advice given by the hitting coach to him who had put matter in front of him in a philosophical manner.
"Phil says it best ... if I can just stay out of my way, I'll be all right," Venable said.
While playing a career high 148 games in the Majors, Will broke the 100 hits barrier for the first time. He posted a .264 batting average and a .335 on-base percentage; both numbers are ahead of his career numbers that spans over five seasons.
Manager Bud Black is satisfied with the outcome so far and sees that the changes are working well. The manager believes that Will now has a balanced approach to his game and is more confident than before. He sees that the work done last year has paid off
well.
"It was the first time he stayed with a real sound approach, both mentally and with his stance," Black said. "I think that's a sign of confidence in his ability and trust in what he, Phil and Alonzo worked on."
Venable says that he is looking to continue with the changes that were made last year and he has not been trying too many things that are different. He hopes to build upon the improvements that he made last year to his swing.
Hitting Coach Phil Plantier is also satisfied by the work done by Will and is glad that the hitter has stuck with the technique he adopted. He likes the idea of not going after everything and going after pitches with confidence when a chance presents itself.
Meanwhile, Manager Bud Black is quite satisfied with the look of the team so far that is participating for the upcoming season. He sees that the team is mix of everything and knows that there is likely going to be some good production by the players in their
own ways.
“We like it," manager Bud Black said. "We feel good about it in a lot of ways. ... There's some pop, some average, good defense. We expect production, and they expect production."
It is good to see someone like Will Venable performing well and making use of his abilities. The team will be looking to have a winning season and players such as Venable will have to play a crucial role in that. Should every player fire, there is no reason
why the Padres will not be having a season to rejoice.
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