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The Colorado Rockies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 recent run ensured that their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers would make for entertaining viewing on Saturday evening.\u00c2\u00a0 Watching on MLB.TV offered the additional benefit of listening to the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully calling the action and, in particular, commenting on the recent form of the Rockies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.<\/p>\n
Scully has been calling Dodgers games for 61 years and counting and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no one better able to put historic feats or memorable performances into perspective.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a sense of wonder in Scully\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice as he relayed the numbers that Tulowitzki had put up over the preceding fourteen games as he arrived in the batter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s box in the first inning.\u00c2\u00a0 Scully had just finished stating the stats when the Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 starting pitcher John Ely threw a change-up down the middle of the plate to Tulowitzki.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look out, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hit another one!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, exclaimed Scully.<\/p>\n
So he had, and he would do so again in the fifth inning.\u00c2\u00a0 The two blasts made it fourteen home runs in fifteen games prior to Sunday, a sequence that began on 3 September against the San Diego Padres.\u00c2\u00a0 Tulowitzki had hit twelve home runs in the 2010 season before that point, nine of which came before spending five weeks on the disabled list between mid-June and the end of July.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTulo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 hit thirty-two long balls in 2009, so a power explosion is nothing new for the shortstop, but this recent run has been almost otherworldly, not least because his DL stint was due to a fractured wrist.\u00c2\u00a0 Strong wrists are an essential element for any home run hitter and when they suffer an injury to that area, you often find that it can take months after they return to the lineup before the power really comes back\u00c2\u00a0(David Ortiz and Vernon Wells are two recent examples of this).\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not been a problem in this case though.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Troy Tulowitzki \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 boy \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 unbelievable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was how Scully put it and, as always, he called it just right.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, there was a similarly astonished tone to a home run call made by a broadcaster on Rogers Sportsnet.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fifty is surely in sight now. Number forty-nine for the Blue Jays\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jose Bautista\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
The astonishment would have been merited for the majesty of the shot alone.\u00c2\u00a0 This was no fence-scraper, it soared high over the Green Monster out into the street below and induced a gasp alongside the expected groan from the Fenway faithful.\u00c2\u00a0 However, as with Tulowitzki, it was the numbers involved that made the moment all the more breathtaking.<\/p>\n
If someone tells you that they had predicted Bautista would hit forty-nine homers in a season, chances are their face will be found under the word \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcliar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the dictionary.\u00c2\u00a0 Coming into the season, Bautista had hit fifty-nine home runs in his career dating back to his first Big League fly ball off Scott Olsen on 13 May 2006.\u00c2\u00a0 His highest season total came with the Pittsburgh Pirates that same year when he hit sixteen in 117 games.\u00c2\u00a0 To state that this season has been out of step with the rest of his career would be a major understatement.<\/p>\n
Sadly, such a power jump has set tongues wagging and fingers tapping as some have questioned on radio shows and blogs whether Bautista\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 2010 season has been \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcenhanced\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in any illegal way.\u00c2\u00a0 Baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past makes these rumours depressingly inevitable; however in this case there are two strong arguments to counteract them.\u00c2\u00a0 Firstly, Bautista would have been tested numerous times this season for any so-called performance-enhancing drugs and has clearly come up clean every time.\u00c2\u00a0 Secondly, there is a genuine explanation for why he has performed so much better in 2010 than in years past.<\/p>\n
Bautista has made some deliberate changes to his swing and his approach at the plate and it would be fair to say that they are working.\u00c2\u00a0 Fanhouse.com\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Frankie Pilliere, a former scout for the Texas Rangers, has written a fascinating article<\/a> explaining these changes in detail.\u00c2\u00a0 They all link together, but the bit that really caught my eye was the comments on Bautista\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leg kick and the way that impacts his timing at the plate.\u00c2\u00a0 As Pilliere explains:<\/p>\n “This leg kick that he has used can be difficult to master. Land in the wrong place and you close yourself off. Land too far open and you end up pulling off the ball. If the timing is off at all, it’s going to lead to quite a few strikeouts \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it’s nearly impossible to be a consistent hitter for average using this approach”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n