Move To Leadoff Spot Paying Off For Oneil Cruz

Through his first fifty four games of the season, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz wasn’t able to discover his groove

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on the plate In those fifty four games, Cruz hit underneath the Mendoza Line, checking in with a .198 average. That mark

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became observed via a .641 OPS and eighty one strikeouts in 212 plate appearances (38% strikeout rate). Cruz changed into most often

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penciled in towards the lowest half of of the Bucs’ lineup over that extend, maximum commonly in the sixth spot of the batting order

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In an effort to jump start the rookie, manager Derek Shelton determined to move him to the top spot of the

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lineup on Aug. 28, and has finished so every game when you consider that This was a approach that turned

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into utilized by another Pirates’ manager with another capacity celeb over 30 years in the past In Barry Bonds’

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rookie season with Pittsburgh in 1986, then-Pirates supervisor Jim Leyland automatically hit Bonds first in the lineup

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which will assist him grow to be a extra selective hitter. As it did 36 years in the past with Leyland and Bonds, the move via Shelton

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