Wong's bat shines early, but focus is behind plate

FORT MYERS, Fla. ¨C Connor Wong, who was kept out of the first week of games due to a sore right shoulder, made a dramatic entrance on Saturday when he hammered one over everything in left in his first Grapefruit League at-bat during Boston¡¯s 8-4 win over Minnesota at JetBlue Park.

As nice as it was for Wong to start his Spring Training with a literal bang against towering Twins righty Bailey Ober, it didn¡¯t distract him from his actual mission for the coming season.

What is that mission?

To make vast improvements at framing pitches (particularly those in the lower portion of the zone) and blocking the baseball.

Considering that Wong has always been billed as a standout athlete, it is somewhat surprising he wasn¡¯t able to be more athletic behind the plate last season.

¡°This guy's a freak athlete numbers-wise,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°Between him and Trevor [Story], we don't know who's the best athlete [on the team]. Trevor will say it¡¯s him, and Connor will say it¡¯s him. But just be more athletic. And [with the framing], be more aggressive."

There is a science to catching in this era that comes with all the available analytics.

¡°I don't know much about the science behind it, but something I notice is there has to be conviction behind it,¡± said Cora. ¡°Those guys [around the league] are ripping it, and it started five, six years ago, and hopefully we can get it.

¡°For me ¨C probably others in the organization don't agree ¨C but it¡¯s more about making sure strikes are strikes. We cannot lose strikes. I know we can steal strikes. But if we don't lose strikes, we're going to be in a good spot, and hopefully we can accomplish that.¡±

What types of things lead to an improvement in making sure strikes are strikes?

¡°Making sure the path of your glove is right,¡± Wong said. ¡°Are you working through the ball? Are you working even with it, or down or on top of it, especially at the bottom of the zone?

¡°I had to really work hard to make sure I'm staying underneath those balls. It¡¯s not about getting those balls called strikes. It's just making sure the bottom rail, we're keeping those pitches strikes as best as we can. The umpires have a lot to do with it, but I think if we stay underneath the ball, we give them the best shot to be able to call a strike.¡±

While Wong raised his game offensively with a strong showing prior to the All-Star break, his defense went in the other direction.

In his second full season in the Majors, Wong posted a minus-7 in catcher framing runs, which was tied for 52nd out of 58 qualified catchers

Wong¡¯s blocking was arguably worse: minus-13 in blocks above average, tied for 63rd among 66 qualified catchers.

But it is nothing that can¡¯t be improved by technique. And that¡¯s why new Red Sox catching instructor Parker Guinn flew to Wong¡¯s hometown of Houston frequently over the offseason.

¡°He was able to come out six or seven times, maybe more,¡± said Wong. ¡°But it was great just to get some feedback and bouncing around some new ideas. I was thankful he was able to come out as much as he did.¡±

¡°He's such a great athlete, we wanted to put him into more optimal positions to receive. And we think with those changes, he'll actually block better out of them, too,¡± said Guinn. ¡°And again, just being the athlete that he is, we want to put him into situations and positions where he can take advantage of that athleticism.¡±

Houck goes all out for last out
You¡¯d be hard-pressed to find an established pitcher putting his body on the line to get an out in Spring Training like Tanner Houck did on Saturday to complete his three-inning performance. On a grounder to the right side by Harrison Bader, Houck fielded it himself and sprawled across the bag to get the final out of the inning.

What inspired him to show such intensity in a Grapefruit League game?

"Before I went out there, AC told me I had 10 pitches left, and he said, 'Get through the third with 10 pitches.' I said, 'OK.' I knew I was getting close, and so I made the play,¡± said Houck. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a play I probably won¡¯t do again in Spring Training. During the season, maybe do that again. But reactions just kind of took over. Pumped up for the first game being back out there."