Wil Myers - no batting gloves, no pine tar, no problem. (Image: Alan Barrington)

Yes, the Royals may need to put extra dirt in the batter’s box when Wil Myers arrives in Kansas City.  Let me explain.  There are some rituals that almost every player goes through when standing in the box.  Between pitches, the majority of hitters will step out and then back in again to mentally restart their rhythm.  They tap both sides of the plate with their bat, take a couple practice swings, and then face the pitcher and wait for the delivery.

A few players have slightly more elaborate batter’s box rituals.  You may remember Mike Sweeney sweeping the dirt of the box with his feet, tapping his shoes with the bat to knock the dirt from his cleats, re-stretching the Velcro of his batting gloves, and pressing his helmet back down on his head.  Lots of batters do these things, but few do all of them between every pitch as Sweeney did.

I couldn’t find any video of Joe Randa standing in the box, but I seem to remember that he would pull up the shoulders of his jersey before each pitch.  He also plastered that weird grin on his face that caused fans to refer to him as the Joker.  Just for fun, check out “Batting Stance Guy’s” take on some historic Royals.  You’ll be surprised how many players you’ll recognize just from their ritual in the batter’s box.

Some baseball players have truly unusual batter’s box rituals.  No doubt you’ve seen the windmill practice swings, the elbow flaps, or Craig Counsell formerly of the Brewers and Diamondbacks holding the bat as high over his head as his arms could reach.

When I was in college in the 1980’s, my school’s baseball team played Oklahoma State a couple of times each year.  The OSU Cowboys had a player named Jim Traber who was drafted in the 21^st round by the Orioles and ended up playing a couple of years in the big leagues.  I hated Jim Traber, for no reason other than I disliked his batting stance.  When he came to the plate, he would take a few practice swings and then point his bat at the mound until the pitcher went into his windup.  I always thought that if I was a pitcher, if any hitter pointed his bat at me I would immediately throw at his head.  Fortunately, none of the pitchers I saw ever lost their cool with Jim Traber the way I would have.

Some batter’s box rituals, such as Carlos Beltran’s, can’t be discussed here.  This is a family web site after all.  Actually, I think this story about Beltran’s ritual is a joke…  or is it?

Which brings us to Wil Myers.  Most Kansas City fans haven’t had a chance to see Wil Myers play yet.  I had an opportunity to watch him with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals recently, before he was promoted to the Storm Chasers.  There are also several videos of him posted on YouTube, including some very nice pieces of video from Lee Warren @OmahaBaseball.  (Lee is a good follow on Twitter too by the way.)

While Christian Colon bats, Wil Myers waits to get his hands dirty. (Image: Alan Barrington)

When you see Will Myers hit, you’ll notice that he has a pretty elaborate set of batter’s box rituals.  He’ll do a variety of things between each pitch that you’ve seen from other players: knock the dirt from his cleats, straighten his cap, step out, tap the plate, sweep the box with his foot, etc.  But he also does something you typically only see in sandlot games – at some point in almost every at bat, he’ll lean down, grab some dirt and rub his hands together.  Wil doesn’t use batting gloves and it doesn’t appear that he uses much, if any, pine tar on his bat either.  Grabbing some dirt is most likely the way he keeps his hands dry and helps him to get a good grip.

If you’ve read any of my previous stories, you may know I’ve been a Royals fan for a very, very long time, beginning in their 1969 inaugural season.  I’m definitely an old school guy who doesn’t understand players who wear their caps crooked, hang bling around their necks, finish the game with a clean uniform, or think it’s acceptable to award home run records to losers who use steroids or human growth hormones.  I want to see guys taking out the second baseman on a double play, standing at the top of the dugout cheering their teammates, and pitching inside (way inside) when Miguel Cabrera or Josh Hamilton comes to the plate.

I don’t know if rubbing a little bit of dirt on your hands before swinging a bat is truly old school or not, but I certainly like how this approach could add to the personality of our team.  It never hurts when you have a few players who are willing to get their hands dirty.

And those alarms bells proved to be warranted today, as Duffy now appears to be heading for Tommy John surgery per an afternoon tweet from the Royals official Twitter account.

 

 

#Royals head physician Dr. Key diagnoses LHP Danny Duffy with a torn left ulnar collateral ligament. Duffy to get 2nd opinion w/ Dr. Yocum.

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2012

 

Obviously, there isn’t much more to say here that isn’t part of an extended and expletive-laden tirade. Royals fans everywhere just had their worst fears realized, just saw the club’s most (arguably only) promising pitcher likely sidelined for over a year. And while we’re on the subject of heavy realizations, the following question needs to be considered: Will Duffy ever be the electrifying, high 90′s pumping wunderkind he was this season ever again?

I’m not ready to answer that (quite depressing) question yet, and truthfully am barely ready to comprehend the loss of Duffy on this 2012 Royals team. With fellow lefty Jonathan Sanchez also currently on the DL, the already struggling rotation is sure to be a glaring weakness for the remainder of the season. Unless, of course, you have the utmost faith in injury replacements Vin Mazzaro, Luis Mendoza, and Nate Adcock.

Sigh.

Is there any better way to start a road trip against Josh Hamilton and the white-hot Texas Rangers?

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May 11, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton (32) gets congratulated by shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

The Royals wrapped up the weekend series in Chi-town with a 9-1 win Sunday to complete a series win.  They now have split or won their last six series and have won 8 of their last 14 after losing 12 in a row in April.  Now they get the daunting task of slowing down one of the best teams in baseball, the Texas Rangers.  Not to mention the best player in the game, Josh Hamilton, just came off one of the greatest weeks a hitter could ever have, including a 5-5 4 homerun game last Tuesday.

The Royals face the Rangers in a short 2 game series in Arlington, Texas.  Bruce Chen and Scott Feldman will be given the nod on Monday to take the mound and open the series.  On Tuesday there has been speculation as to who the Royals will start with most signs pointing toward Vin Mazzaro.  Colby Lewis will be the Rangers starter on Tuesday night.

Feldman, a career .500 pitcher, will be making his second start of the season tomorrow.  He has a 4.35 ERA in 10.1 innings of work on the season.  Feldman is not much of a strike out pitcher and the Royals should be able to put some good at bats together against him.  Colby Lewis is coming off two rough road starts where he allowed 6 runs in each.  While his last two starts are forgettable, he has managed to be stellar at home going 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA.

The main concern I have in the series is how well the Royals can keep the Rangers hitters in line.  I believe Bruce Chen can give us one of his usual starts which will give the Royals a fighting chance.  I’m very skeptical of Mazzaro, but he does have the ability to go 5 innings.  However, it’s also very likely he struggles to go 3 or 4 innings and the Texas lineup does what they do best, and mash.

Before the games get underway there are a few other interesting facts to know.  Ian Kinsler, the second baseman for the Rangers, and Josh Hamilton lead all of Major League Baseball in runs scored.  The Rangers also have one of the best bullpens in all of baseball.  Their bullpen ERA is tops amongst all teams, so it won’t be ideal if the Royals are trailing and have to make any attempt at a comeback against solid relievers like Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, and closer Joe Nathan.

This series is sure going to be an interesting one.  Will Josh Hamilton keep up his torrid hot streak?  Can the Royals starters and bullpen keep the Rangers at bay?  Will the Royals be able to keep pace with the best offense in baseball?  A lot of questions will be answered and we will soon find out how this series will play out.  Hopefully the Royals can, at least, manage a split on the road and head back to Kauffman Stadium on a good note.

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Between you and me, I think it should have gone to Jason Kendall.  In both leagues.  Harumph.
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