TAMPA — Anthony Rizzo doesn’t drink much coffee, but if you do, you can imagine how he felt last year.
Through the first two months of the season, the veteran first baseman was the Yankees’ most consistent hitter.
He then played without a concussion, which significantly reduced his productivity, until he played in his final game on August 1 after colliding with Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base on May 28. , he became a shell of himself.
But after about seven months and a normal offseason with doctor’s approval, Rizzo feels like himself again.
“You’re just riding the speed,” Rizzo said. “When I’m not on top of my game, I guess I’d describe it like a coffee drinker. Like I wake up and try to do something before I drink my coffee. I don’t know, but now I’m constantly I stay alert and conscious.”
As soon as Rizzo started ramping up for this season, the difference was obvious.
He arrived in Tampa a few weeks before spring training and worked out at the Yankees’ player development facility, including pitching practice.
“I went back and looked at the ball like I always do, and I looked at the ball the same way again and I was like, ‘Wow, this is great,'” Rizzo said.
It wasn’t great that Rizzo had to deal with the effects of a concussion while playing almost every day for two months last year.
In 53 games before colliding with Tatis, Rizzo hit .304 with 11 home runs and an .880 OPS.
After the collision, he was finally diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome on August 3, and in 46 games, he hit .172 with one home run and an OPS of .496 before going on the IL for the remainder of the season.
“My cognitive abilities were just slow,” he said. “So it was frustrating when I was like, ‘Hey, how am I missing this pitch?'” It’s great to keep up with speed. ”
The Yankees need him.
With the club bringing in Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo during the offseason, Rizzo finally has some company as a left-handed hitter, but the 34-year-old will likely be able to protect No. 3 hitter Aaron Judge from the defense. He will be tasked with the task. Cleaning site.
If Rizzo can get back to hitting like the legitimate threat he was for the first two months or so of last season, opposing pitchers won’t be able to avoid strikes at Judge entirely, especially if Soto is batting in front of him. I might not be able to do it.
“if [Rizzo] “That’s true and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He’s going to be one of the best hitters in the game in terms of RBIs,” Judge said. “In any big moment, any big moment, he’s very calm at the plate. You need a guy that’s going to put the ball in play and hit the ball all over the park. I’m excited. But he… He’s a Gold Glove first baseman and one of the leaders in this clubhouse.
“And if he’s right, we’re all right.”
Manager Aaron Boone suggested he had enough encouraging signs before the Grapefruit League game even started to believe Rizzo was actually right.
“He seems like a good guy to me,” Boone said. “I’m not too hung up on the outcome with him. I think there’s certainly a small level of wanting to see him go out there and get it done, but there’s some level of confidence that he’s going to be okay. there was.”
For reference, Rizzo had an RBI double in his first game of the spring on Sunday, then went 0-for-1 with a walk in Monday’s 9-2 win over the Twins at Steinbrenner Field. But he said he didn’t need any game action to let him know he was completely clear.
“Spring training is just checking the box,” Rizzo said. “It’s a normal box and it’s not like we checked a box to get back to playing like we did last year.”
