Washington Nationals outfielder Denard Span is having a down year by his own standards. A career .282 hitter, he entered Sunday afternoon’s game against the Kansas City Royals hitting just .264 with 36 RBI. With the help of his mom, Span was able to improve upon those numbers.
Apparently one of the 29-year-old’s issues was that he was not being aggressive enough. Span had been taking a lot of first pitches throughout the season, which is something his mother took note of. That prompted her to shoot him a word of advice.
Denard Span said his mom sent him a text last night telling him to swing at the first pitch more often. His homer today: first-pitch change.
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) August 25, 2013
Span responded by going 4-for-5 with a homer in a 6-4 loss to the Royals. As Hardball Talk pointed out, the home run came off a first pitch from Ervin Santana, as did his singles in the third and ninth. Coincidence? I think not.
As this NBA star could tell you, advice from family members can be very useful sometimes. It certainly sounds like Span’s mom knows her baseball.
