TRAVIS HAFNER: NO LAUGHING MATTER

"I feel better overall. My body feels really good; I don't get that sore anymore or anything. I feel like there's potential there to have a really good season."

--Travis Hafner

Nobody is taking Travis Hafner seriously. Let's face it, with his injury-riddled history, the press just thinks he is kidding.

To summarize, Hafner has hobbled through five seasons heavy with trips to the Disabled List. Last year was no exception and he suffered knee and back issues. With a resume of hurting like that, one worries about his vulnerability to injuries. It can't be denied his game has been affected, he has lost fielding status because of it. He is a one tool guy these days. Designated Hitter only.

Hafner jokes that he continues to receive new first baseman gloves every Spring Training, not that he has any use for them. Laughter from the press again.

"I'm a lot quicker. Maybe I'll steal five bases this year," read HERE. The man called Pronk grins mischievously as the press gets a good chuckle. He is really on. He is killing, as they say in the stand up comedy clubs. And besides, what is up with that nickname? Who gets called Pronk? You have to be kidding, right?

But...

 

Travis Hafner dropped just over ten pounds from his normal game weight by halfway through March. As he has said, he is better shape now than he has been in a very long time.

He is working closely with the coaches of New York to tweak his swing mechanics, specifically to avoid further injuries. While he is joking with the press, he is taking his shot in Pinstripes seriously.

He will hit in the middle of the order during the season. That is where he is used to hitting, and it is just where the Yankees have placed him in Spring Training games this week.

He is a lefty pull hitter playing in Yankee Stadium with that famous short porch in right. That ought to stop some laughter from the haters. Right quick. No pun intended.

Former team-mates are the best sources on players sometimes. CC Sabathia happens to be one of Hafner's. He had this to say about Pronk: "To me, in '06 and '07, he was the best hitter in baseball. It didn't matter if it was a righty or a lefty, you felt good about the matchup."

Sabathia isn't kidding. During latter years of the 2000's, Hafner could hit for an average just shy of .300 while knocking 30 or so homers per season. Hafner is a monster waiting to be let loose. Last year, even though he only made 219 plate appearances, he still crushed 12 homers.

Travis is healthier now than he has been in a long time. He does not have to hang tough for an entire season. As Yankee vets recover, the DH spot will rotate, seeing Jeter, Grandy, and even Vernon Wells in that spot once Curtis is field ready. Pronk will be fresher than he has been in recent years.

Let detractors laugh about the Yankees signing a beat up player prone to the injury bug. What the Bombers really have is a beast straining at the leash to prove he has still got it.

Hafner has an eye on that short porch. He is getting an easier ride than in past seasons, as well as being in better game shape. He likes wearing the Pinstripes. He does not have to carry the team for the season. He only needs to get them out of the gate. All he has to do is swing.

Those laughing at Travis Hafner are going to find that the joke is on them.


 
Chad R. MacDonald
BYB Writer
Facebook: New York Yankees the Home of Champions




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