SO KEVIN YOUKILIS IS GONNA HAVE A NEW SWING?!

A few things have made Kevin Youkilis famous in the baseball world. He is dedicated to the game and a real team player. But his most famous attribute is his batting stance.

Youkilis’s stance is “unique.” The best thing about it is he is the only player in the MLB to hit that way. And you can take that however you want to. He gets in the batting box, does this little jiggle, has his hands apart, and it’s just about the strangest thing to watch. It’s the complete opposite of what you learn in little league. Kevin Long has recently met with Youkilis about his batting stance.

Jack Curry tweeted out a few days ago that Long and Youkilis have been reviewing some old footage, read that HERE. After hitting over .300 in 2010, his BA dropped considerably in 2011 and again in 2012. According to Curry’s tweets, the tapes they have been reviewing are from 2008. Long is looking to bring back Youkilis’s stance from his best season.

Some of the changes that Long is making include a deeper crouch at the plate, a wider stance and lowering the positioning of his hands. I’ll assume this is to create better balance and bat speed. These changes are being made to help him against right-handed pitchers. In 2012 he hit .275 against lefties and only .220 against righties, check out his splits HERE.

Long has helped Curtis Granderson become a better power hitter. The number of Granderson’s homers nearly doubled from 2010 to 2011. I won’t expect vintage 2008 Youkilis at the plate this season though. If Long can get Youkilis in the position to hit as well against righties as he does against lefties, I will be satisfied.

Unfortunately, the dance at the box will probably be around for as long as Youkilis plays. Maybe it will become popular in New York the way the Orlando Hernandez did. So long as the work that he and Long are putting in this off season is effective, I’ll do a little batter box booty dance in his honor.

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804

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