Massey tested during eventful first day in left field
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersSURPRISE, Ariz. -- For the first time in Michael Massey¡¯s career, he took the field and veered toward the outfield grass rather than the infield dirt.
Massey got his first chance at playing left field on Tuesday afternoon in the Royals¡¯ 15-6 win over the Rangers at Surprise Stadium, logging four innings in the field and going 2-for-3 at the plate.
¡°A little different being out there,¡± Massey said. ¡°I haven¡¯t played out there since I was a kid. But just seeing the ball and getting reps, I feel like it¡¯s going to be really good for me. ¡ I¡¯m excited. Any way I can help the team is what I¡¯m trying to do. It¡¯s a good challenge.¡±
As the Royals audition both Massey and Jonathan India, two career infielders, in left field this spring, both are learning on the fly and getting game reps under a sunny and high sky in Arizona -- perhaps the best place to learn because it¡¯s one of the hardest places to play outfield. India learned that Sunday when he wasn¡¯t wearing sunglasses in the second inning and lost a ball in the sun, watching it drop in front of him for a ¡°sun ball¡± double. He went out to the field in the third with sunglasses.
Massey started Tuesday¡¯s game prepared.
¡°I need these for sure,¡± Massey said, putting the sunglasses on mid-interview.
And he was challenged right away Tuesday with two opportunities in the first inning. Starter Seth Lugo allowed a few harder-hit balls and more fly balls during his spring debut, which is to be expected in Arizona.
¡°I was glad to get him some work,¡± said Lugo, who allowed three runs in two innings over 41 pitches. ¡°Pitching in Arizona, some breaking balls just don¡¯t perform like you¡¯d expect them to, so they get above the barrel and get more fly balls out here.¡±
Corey Seager hit a fly ball to left in the first inning, and Massey was able to track it down, park under it with his glove up to shade the sun and make a clean and easy catch. Two batters later, Adolis Garc¨ªa hit a fly ball to left that Massey broke back on, but he wasn¡¯t able to run an efficient route after losing it in the air.
Massey still made the inning-ending catch on a run.
¡°The first one, I was just so nervous that I was hoping to catch it and don¡¯t even remember it,¡± Massey said. ¡°But the second one was tough. It was to my right, I broke back, and I¡¯ve been trying to work on being able to take my eye off the ball and then find it again. Took my eye off it, looked up, saw the sun, didn¡¯t see the ball, and then just the work I¡¯ve been doing with [outfield coach Damon Hollins took over], figuring out how to shift myself and see the ball again and get a different angle.¡±
Massey wasn¡¯t as lucky in the second inning, when Josh Smith doubled to the wall. He didn¡¯t recognize the spin that was coming from a left-handed batter in Smith, which tends to curve more toward the foul line.
¡°With a lefty, that ball starts over my left shoulder,¡± Massey said. ¡°Natural reaction is to break left, and then by the time you look up again, with the spin, it¡¯s 10 feet to your right. So just need to see that ball more, get better reads. Maybe my first reaction is to break right instead of break left right away. That¡¯s just reps.¡±
Massey got at least one ground ball, too, that he threw into the cutoff man, so in all, it was a good day for him to play left and get the opportunities.
¡°A couple sun balls, and another ball off the left-handed bat that turned him a little bit,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°Any experience out there is good experience.¡±