Red-hot Hall making strong case for bench spot
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SARASOTA, Fla. -- Darick Hall figures he must hit this spring to have any chance to make the Phillies¡¯ Opening Day roster.
What else is new?
¡°I¡¯ve got to hit,¡± he said recently. ¡°That¡¯s my calling card.¡±
Hall is hitting. He went 2-for-3 with a home run in Monday¡¯s 10-7 loss to the Orioles in a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium. He is batting .400 (6-for-15) with two home runs, four RBIs, three walks and four strikeouts in six games.
It is not just against right-handers, either. Hall is showing something against lefties, too. He singled against Orioles left-hander Cole Irvin in the first inning on Monday and he walked twice against Pirates left-handers on Saturday.
Hall credits a more selective approach at the plate.
¡°Let¡¯s just say you have power, a good swing plane, all those tools,¡± Hall said on Monday. ¡°That¡¯s your ability. But how you control your own destiny is what you swing at. I really believe that. Obviously, at times you¡¯re going to swing at balls or chase. But I realized the only way I can control my own destiny is by swinging at strikes. That¡¯s when the best things happen. I really bought into that.
¡°You¡¯re controlling your own destiny by what pitches you swing at. Look at [Bryce] Harper. That dude is one of the best at it. Obviously, he has a great amount of tools, the physical tools. But his tools to hit are extremely good, too. That¡¯s the eyes and cognitive part.¡±
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But isn¡¯t that easier said than done? It seems every spring hitters come into camp saying they¡¯re going to try to not chase as much, put the ball in play more, etc.
But being aggressive is just in some hitters¡¯ DNA.
¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯ve worked on in the offseason with K Long [hitting coach Kevin Long],¡± Hall said. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about where the ball needs to start, and understanding the ball has to be in a certain place. We¡¯re going to get fooled. We¡¯re going to be late sometimes. We¡¯re going to be early sometimes. At least I know if a ball comes in a certain window, OK, that¡¯s the one. When you¡¯re doing that is when you¡¯re able to be calm on the inside.¡±
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Catcher Garrett Stubbs and utility players Edmundo Sosa and Josh Harrison are locks to make the Phillies¡¯ five-man bench. Hall is a top candidate to take one of the final two spots. Also in the mix are Dalton Guthrie, Kody Clemens, Jake Cave and Scott Kingery, who is not on the 40-man roster.
¡°Right now I feel like I¡¯m really trusting myself,¡± Hall said.