Photo Credit: CBS New York
The New York Yankees are currently gearing up for another season. This season, the team will look a little different after losing Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, and most notably Robinson Cano. Cano had long been a fan favorite in New York and is widely considered one of the best second baseman in the league. However, he did have his shortcomings according to Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long.
He told the New York Daily News, “There were holes in his swing, in his makeup, in his body composition. This kid grew and grew.” Long said that he would spend extra time in the batting cage with Cano per Cano’s request. He was always trying to improve his game, whether it be in the field or in the batter’s box, he was always trying to get better. There was, however, one very bad habit of Cano’s that he could not break.
The mantra of baseball is to run out every play because you never know what could happen. Unfortunately, the former Yankees second baseman did not see it that way. “I’m pretty sure [Derek] Jeter talked to him a number of times,” Long said. “Even if you run at 80 percent, no one’s going to say anything. But when you jog down the line, even if it doesn’t come into play 98 percent of the time, it creates a perception.” He would constantly make excuses for why he chose not to run out every ground ball. Long explained that Cano would tell him he wanted to save his legs for the rest of the game, but his philosophy was, “. . .there was no acceptable answer.” Maybe there was bad blood between Cano and the Yankees and that is the real reason they let him walk so easily?
