Tigers catcher James McCann has surprising hitting partner
The holiday season may have arrived, but that doesn’t mean the hard work stops for Major League Baseball players. In fact, the grind should be picking up in intensity right about now as the new year approaches.
Here’s the problem though. Once the holidays hit, it becomes family first, which means getting that extra time in the batting cage can be a problem. That is, unless you have a partner or family member willing to pitch in — literally — such as Detroit Tigers catcher James McCann.
A video posted by James McCann (@mccannon34) on Dec 20, 2016 at 12:10pm PST
As McCann showed us on his Instagram page, his wife, Jessica McCann, has stepped up and filled the void as his hitting partner this week. That’s allowed him to share time with the family while continuing his preparation all at once.
Here’s what the photo’s caption reads:
Christmas travels leaving me without a hitting partner? My wife @jessmccann3 has it covered! #OffSeason #TeamMcCann #NoDaysOff
You can also add #RelationshipGoals, because who doesn’t strive to spend time in the batting cage with their significant other playing soft toss and dodging line drives?
It’s all about teamwork, and it’s clear the McCanns make a strong team. Now the hope is that the hard work pays off with a breakthrough season in 2017.
McCann has played in 219 games for Detroit over the last two seasons, essentially taking over as the regular catcher. During that time he’s hit .244/.285/.373 with 19 homers and 89 RBIs. That’s fair production, but those are certainly numbers Detroit would like to see him build on. The extra work in the batting cage can’t hurt. Then again, if he continues playing defense like last season, Detroit might see his offense as a bonus. He finished third in defensive runs saved and first in stolen base runs saved, while seemingly building a good rapport with his pitchers.
The only area he lacked there was his pitch framing skills. Once his hitting sessions are over, it might be time for Jessica to work on spotting her fastballs.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
