Solak more relaxed, and it shows
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ARLINGTON -- The Rangers came into this season looking to see who would be part of their long-term post-rebuild plans. Nick Solak looked to be in that mix at the start of the season, when he was the Opening Day second baseman.
But he batted just .225 before the club optioned him on July 23. He was recalled to the big league club on Aug. 20 after a number of players landed on the COVID-related injured list, and he¡¯s made the most of his opportunity.
Heading into Wednesday¡¯s series finale against the Rockies, Solak had hits in all nine games since being recalled; four of those have been multihit games. In August he slashed .371/.436/.600 at the big league level.
¡°He's so much more free,¡± said manager Chris Woodward. ¡°You see the swing, now you see the conviction in the swing. He's on time. He's getting balls to the middle of the field. He's had trouble in the past, kind of rolling over and pounding the ball into the ground on the right side. He¡¯s staying through that ball and has a good path to it, so he's gonna hit a lot of balls hard.¡±
Solak worked on both the mental and physical sides of the game during his time at Triple-A Round Rock.
Rangers hitting coach Luis Ortiz emphasized that Solak has been more relaxed this time around, and he¡¯s becoming more in tune with himself as it relates to baseball. After Solak's hot start to the season -- he slashed .293/.375/.535 with seven home runs in April -- Ortiz said it¡¯s not surprising he fell victim to lofty expectations.
¡°You try to keep repeating what has happened before, and of course he did all that stuff without trying to do it,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°Now if you try to do it, it's not going to work that way. I think he just needed to go back to being himself and playing the game free.¡±
According to Ortiz, a few ingredients are needed to thrive at the big league level. Talent is obvious, but feeling like you belong is an overlooked aspect. And most important, at least for Ortiz, is having fun every day on the field and enjoying the experience.
¡°He's been more relaxed,¡± Ortiz added. ¡°He went through a very difficult time, but he¡¯s back. That right there is a testament that he is good enough to be at this level. He's so in tune with himself that I need him to enjoy every moment. Enjoy everything the way life is. It's been fun to see him thrive and overcome some of the stuff that he was going through.¡±
Honor for Ib¨¢?ez
Rookie infielder Andy Ib¨¢?ez was named the Rangers' Player of the Month for August as voted on by the beat writers and broadcasters who cover the club. Ib¨¢?ez raked all month before landing on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, slashing .310/.348/.517 with an .865 OPS. He led Texas in batting average, slugging and OPS for the month, and he also had a career-high 11-game hit streak from Aug. 15-27, including multiple hits in seven straight from Aug. 20-27.
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Childhood Cancer Awareness Day
Major League Baseball and its clubs are raising awareness for childhood cancer on Wednesday in a league-wide event to kick off Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Players, coaches and other on-field personnel wore gold ribbon decals and wristbands during the series finale against the Rockies.
The Rangers have been raising awareness throughout their most recent homestand, and hosted Make-A-Wish North Texas on Friday, with all proceeds from that night¡¯s raffle going to that local nonprofit. Texas is also planning to host a swab/donor registration event with DMKS on Sept. 28 to support finding donors for blood cancers and sickle cell disease.