New York Yankees Editorial: Hard Work Paying Off for Gregorius

After a bumbling start to his career with the New York Yankees, Didi Gregorius has steadily improved to become a sure-handed short stop and a better hitter than he was at the beginning of the year. His improvement has been so profound that his neighbor at third base has taken notice.

Gregorius has always had a knack, for making difficult plays look easy, said Chase Headley, the Yankees starting third baseman. Headley also added that:  “Gregorius is one of the best in the game at ranging to his right and firing with ease to first base bullets that nab runners by several steps.”

Gregorius began the year batting .206/.261/.238. However, Since June 1^st, his production has increased. He is hitting .266 with 2 homeruns, eight doubles and an RBI. On the field, he also reduced the amount of errors he’s committing. He closed the month of April with 6 errors. During the months of April, May, June and the first 14 days of July, he has only erred 3 times for a total of 9 errors through the first half of the season.

Joe Espada, the third base and infield coach for the Yankees, characterizes Gregorius’s resurgence as a return to form. Last year Espada was a special assistant to Yankees GM, Brian Cashman. He was assigned to scout Gregorius who was playing in the Diamondbacks farm system at the time. What impressed Espada the most was his work ethic. It is that same work ethic that has allowed him to grow into the player the Yankees hoped he could be.

An example of that work ethic can be seen in his recent hot streak. Earlier this year the Yankees identified a fatal flaw in his Gregorius’s swing. Allan Cockrell, assistant hitting coach of the Yankees said that his recent hard work in the batting cage was responsible for the increased production.

Its still to soon to tell if Gregorius is the answer at short stop for the Yankees, however, he is proving that he can get it done on defense and offense.

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