Red Sox’s Ceddanne Rafaela dishes on key change that resulted in two-homer game vs. Tigers
Rafaela has had a solid rookie season so far as he currently leads the majors with 33 RBIs.
If there has been a bright spot for the Boston Red Sox this season, it has been rookie Ceddanne Rafaela who has shown to be an exciting player and could develop into a foundation piece for the club. He made headlines Friday night as he had a great game against the Detroit Tigers where he hit two home runs leading to the 7-3 victory for Boston.
However, Rafaela has had to change his technique a little bit in his batting stance where he usually would hold his hands up high on the bat which when facing big league pitching, it could be an insurmountable feat to be successful. Rafaela spoke after Friday night’s win to the media about the importance of making adjustments, especially at the level he is currently playing at according to Sean McAdam of MassLive.com
“I’ve been (lowering my hands) in the cage,” Rafaela said. “And when I was 100 percent (confident), I did it in the game. I think at this level, you have to make adjustments. As a player, you know when it’s time to make adjustments. And when you see that your adjustments are working out, you feel (more) confident.”
Alex Cora talks about the adjustments made by Rafaela with Red Sox
So far, it has seemed to work as in the past 10 games before the two home run game against the Tigers, he was hitting .265 where overall on the season, he is at a .211 batting average. Red Sox manager Alex Cora also spoke after the contest to the media about the technique change for Rafaela and said he has noticed the change of “his hands” as they “are creeping down and down.”
“In this era,” Cora said, “not many (hitters) can do it – the big moves the high leg kicks — because of the (quality of the) stuff on the mound. Little by little, his hands are creeping down and down, getting more quiet.”
“But obviously, there are (necessary) adjustments,” Cora continued. “Last year, Jarren (Duran) with his hands, this year (Triston) Casas with his elbow…This year, it’s (Rafaela) with the hands. He knows. He studies the game and he sees other guys and where they’re at and how they perform. Hopefully, we get into the spot that we’re looking for and it should be fun…We’ve been talking about it for a while, but It’s not that easy to go from one spot to the other. He understands. He knows what we want him to do and he knows that he needs to do it. It’s a comfort level and little by little, he’s getting there.”
