Aaron Boone acknowledges that Joey Gallo is a different kind of player, even when he is going well at the plate, as his high strikeout rate has existed even during his best times with the Rangers.
But what the Yanks have been getting from Gallo has not been close to enough. The lefty slugger still hasn’t gone deep this season, has struck out 18 times and has just five hits, none for extra bases, in 41 at-bats.
Boone believes a slow start to a season can sometimes lead a hitter to try and will his way out of a slump, and wants to see Gallo keep his focus on the next at-bat, not the previous one.
“I think it’s more just getting in the game, and I talk about going and playing,” Boone said before Saturday’s game. “The work is there and the work is right. He’s a different kind of player, even when it’s going well…but it’s just human nature to want to chase that result a little bit.”
Gallo was dreadful for the Yanks last year after being acquired at the trade deadline, when he wasn’t far removed from an appearance at the All-Star Game for the second time in a row. But the results have not followed from Texas, aside from the strikeouts, and as a result, he was batting seventh in the order on Saturday.
But that doesn’t mean Boone is giving up. If Gallo can keep his focus in the present, Boone is convinced he and the Yankees will see the reward.
“If he does that consistently over time, he’s gonna get on, and he’s gonna hit the ball hard,” Boone said. “Just trying as best we can, keeping him in that focus of getting into a game and not obsessively chasing that result, and just focus on having a quality at-bat.
“If he does that, we’re gonna get a really productive player.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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