Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates still has the video of the first day hewatched Andy Pagesin person.
The clip is from May 2018, when Bates was the Dodgers’ minor-league hitting coordinator and Pages was a freshly signed 18-year-old prospect out of Cuba.
The film is of a batting practice session Pages was taking at the club’s Dominican Republic training facility, during one of Bates’ visits to work with the organization’syoungest new hitters.
As Bates played the video this week, pulling it up on his phone while reminiscing about Pages’ rise to suddenbig-league stardom with the Dodgersthis year, he remarked on all the slugger’s similarities from way back then to now.
The natural fluidity in Pages’ mechanics. His ability to cover pitches at both the top and bottom of the strike zone. The inherent confidence he exuded with every stroke.
“He had a pretty good swing as an 18-year-old kid,” Bates said.
The one thing he needed to change, however, was also evident on the screen.
Watch Pages now, and you’ll see not only one of the hottest early-season hitters in Major League Baseball –– entering Tuesday with an MLB-best .370 batting average and 21 RBIs –– but also one of the sport’s better all-around athletes. He’s fast and flexible. Lean and Limber. Equipped with explosive physical strength and a cannon for a right arm.
Watch Pages from much of his minor-league career, and the aesthetic is completely different. From his arrival as a teenager, all the way through his double-A season as a 21-year-old in 2022, he was out of shape and (for an aspiring center fielder, at least) far from his ideal weight, repeatedly docked in old scouting reports for his stocky frame and defensive limitations.
“There had been countless conversations with Andy,” Dodgers general manager, and former farm director, Brandon Gomes said. “Like, ‘Hey, it’d probably be beneficial if you change your body composition.’ That was three years in the making.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
