How A-Rod Got His Groove Back

New hitting coach, tighter swing, help erase memories of last October
By Jesse Andrews,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2007 11:20 PM CDT
How A-Rod Got His Groove Back
Boston Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp goes over the wall while trying in vain to catch a three-run home run off New York Yankees   (Associated Press)

A new hitting coach and newfound aggressiveness are two of the keys to a record-tying-hot start for Alex Rodriguez this season. That start, in turn, has helped ease the pain of a horrifically embarrassing 1-for-14 in the playoffs last season, during which the $252-million third baseman was dropped to eighth in the Yankees' batting order.

Kevin Long, New York's new hitting coach, has preached a tighter, later swing, along with the more frequent employment of it. The results have been 12 homers in 16 games.  A-Rod is currently "...a hall-of-fame-hot hitter,” blogs pitcher Curt Schilling. “Hot hitters still have holes, the latter don’t.” (More Kevin Long stories.)

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