Over the last few weeks of the season, once Jasson Dominguez was called up to the Yankees, he seemed to split playing time with Alex Verdugo in the outfield – Aaron Boone’s words that ‘if (Dominguez) comes up, he’s going to play a lot’ coming true.
But, in a season where he’s lost playing time, hit in every spot but third, and been one of the hottest and coldest hitters on the team, Alex Verdugo’s confidence never wavered.
“I mean, I don't think you worry about losing your job. Like, it kind of already happened, right? It was a trial for him, I felt like, so it was one of those things; you wanted to give him playing time, I kind of knew I was losing some time,” Verdugo said Thursday, just before the Yankees clinched the ALDS. “I was upset about it, but at the same time, I felt like I needed to correct some things in my body, physically and obviously eating a little bit better, too. I just started kind of doing that, using those off-days to kind of benefit myself as like work days and getting treatment, hitting, feeling certain moves and certain things that I had kind of got away from. I got motivated, and sometimes you need to get kicked in the teeth to kind of get that fire lit back under you.”
It paid off when Verdugo was in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALDS and delivered the game-winning hit, and he ended up in left field for all four games of the series while Dominguez did not see the field.
Turns out, Aaron Boone had told Verdugo on one of the Yankees’ workout days that he was going to be in the Game 1 lineup, at least, and Verdugo took it from there.
“We had a conversation and kind of understood we were on the same page. This is what we kind of formed the team around when we started the year, and I want to be out there every day for my guys, saving every run I can and producing at the plate,” Verdugo said. “My job is to go out there, make every play I can, and go up there and have good situational hitting, get guys over, get guys in. I felt like my at-bats have been a lot better, controlling the zone a lot better, minus a couple where I was a little too aggressive early – but I'll take that any day.”
When asked about his skipper, Verdugo said ‘Boone has been great, I have no complaints,’ and it seems like that convo in the Yankees’ down time reminded Verdugo of just who he can be.
“I felt like I ended the season on a lot better note, playing a lot better, and just getting a couple timely hits,” Verdugo said. “I understand who I am as a player, and I know when we need to get going, it doesn't matter how I feel. You've got to go out there, compete, give it 100 percent. That’s the biggest thing.”
Verdugo was just 3-for-14 with a walk in the series, but that Game 1 hit was huge, and his defense was just as important in that game. It earned him the playing time, but he knows that Dominguez is still lurking as an option.
“He’s great. I like him a lot, and he is and is going to be a great player,” Vedugo said. “He got his playing time and was able to showcase and get a little more experience. Sometimes it clicks right away and sometimes you have growing pains, but I think he’s going to be very good.”
Verdugo also understands, having been there before, how tough it is for Dominguez to be on the bench in this situation, but ‘he’s handling it like a pro and will be ready for the moment’ if it comes.
And he will be as well.
“When it's the moment, time to really shine, I live for the stage and I love it,” Verdugo said. “This is the kind of baseball that I want to be a part of.”