I had a suggestion for Joey Gallo: whatever bat he uses in the Home Run Derby on Monday night should be similar, very similar, to the bat that he has been using in the past few weeks. You know, the stretch in which he's been arguably the best hitter in baseball, with 11 home runs and a .378/.549/1.270 slash line in his past dozen games? That piece of lumber is hitting the heck out of these baseballs.
However, after seeing his custom-design bats courtesy of Marucci Sports — the brand that has led the MLB bat market for the past three years in terms of player usage — I think that he'll do just fine without my advice. That's because the designs, a) are really cool to look at and, b) hold personal meaning for the Rangers slugger.
The bat on the left is Vegas-themed, representing Gallo's upbringing. Born in Henderson, Nevada, which is the second largest city in the state and is only 16 miles southeast of Vegas, Gallo attended the city's Bishop Gorman High School and was named the state's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year as a senior. As of now, Gallo has the fifth-highest bWAR of any MLB player born in Nevada, trailing a small handful of other recognizable names (via Baseball Reference).
The other bat is designed a tad more subtly, especially if you're not from the state of Texas or familiar with its flag. However, if you do recognize the color scheme, you'll know that it's that of the Lone Star Flag, adopted as the state's national flag in 1839. Which bat he'll use in which round is left for debate, but it might be right for him to use the Texas bat toward the end as his "finale," so long as you think the trade rumors are legitimate. They sure seem to have a lot of buzz surrounding them, so it might be time to enjoy him as a Ranger while he lasts. If it were up to him, however, it seems like he'd be very happy sticking around.
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"I haven't heard anything. Obviously, I would love to stay. I love Texas. I love playing for the Rangers," Gallo said. "...Hopefully, I'll be here a lot longer, but you'll have to get the more important, front office guys on the phone for an interview to ask them to see what they have to say.
"Unfortunately, it's not up to me, but obviously, I'd love to play in Texas for a long time."
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