Javier Baez praises Manny Ramirez as Triple-A hitting coach
By Hayden Kane
To hear top Chicago Cubs’ prospect Javier Baez tell it, the presence of Manny Ramirez as a player/hitting coach for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs is no gimmick.
More from Chicago Cubs
- MLB Rumors: Yankees mistake, Cardinals trade package, Cubs choice
- MLB Rumors: Cardinals budging on Arenado, Orioles-Ohtani package, Yankees backup plan
- Cubs: Cody Bellinger is putting up come-and-get-me numbers
- Cubs front office deserves an apology for Willson Contreras hysteria
- MLB standings ordered by hard hit rate: Struggling Cardinals still cracking bats
That feedback would be valuable from a young hitter regardless, but it is especially interesting from Baez after his recent hot start in his first three games in the big leagues.
As passed along by Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times, Baez credits Ramirez for teaching the hitters a lot down in the minor leagues:
"“He was great. I learned a lot of stuff from him,” Baez said of Ramirez, who in June joined Baez and other top prospects at Iowa as a player/coach in a much-criticized signing by team president Theo Epstein.“He helped my approach to right-center, [following] his routine every day, going to the cage, the way he works,” Baez said. “He’s always got a bat in his hand doing something, either swinging the bat or just hitting in the cage. He talked to a lot of the guys. A lot of people learned from him.”"
For all of the controversy that Ramirez earned over the course of his career, his ability at the plate was never questioned. Furthermore, the fact that he had a darn-near perfect swing when it comes to being balanced and powerful at the same time actually would seem to suit him for a coach’s role pretty well. Ramirez would also have tips to offer in terms of patience and pitch recognition.
For a guy like Baez, a young right-handed power hitter, the value of learning from one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time is without question, even if that guy also happens to be kind of a bizarre human being.