York Rangers Youth

York Rangers Youth

Robinson Cano is a second-generation Major Leaguer. His father, Jose Cano, was signed by the New York Yankees in 1980. He reached the Major Leagues with the Houston Astros in 1989 and pitched six games for them that year. The senior Cano was such a fan of Jackie Robinson that he named his son after the legendary Brooklyn Dodger. Jackie Robinson's number, 42, has been retired by Major League Baseball, so Robinson Cano reversed Robinson's number and wears New York Yankees jersey number 24 in honor of his father's hero.

 

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Cano played both baseball and basketball in high school before being signed by the Yankees in 2001. He made debut in a New York Yankees jersey on May 3, 2005. Finishing his first year at second base with a .297 batting average, 14 home runs and 62 runs batted in, Cano finished second in the balloting for American League Rookie of the Year. The award was won that year by Oakland Athletics pitcher Huston Street.

 

His sophomore year, 2006, saw his success continue. He was elected to the All-Star team at second base. He had to sit out the game, though, with a hamstring injury. He came back from the injury strong and posted stats in September that won him the American League Player of the Month Award for that month. He finished the season with a .342 batting average, the third best in the American League, and only two points behind the other batting leader in a New York Yankees jersey, Derek Jeter.

 

But 2006 also saw him continue to display a weakness at the plate. He was not selective taking pitches. He was swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. At 3.6%, he had the third worst walk percentage in the league. He walked only 18 times in his 482 at-bats. Compare that to the 81 walks by Felipe Lopez, the American League second baseman leader, with 617 at-bats. Or to Jamey Carroll, who with 463 plate appearances tied for sixth in the League with 56 walks. 

 

Although he improved somewhat in 2007, he still walked only 39 times in 617 at-bats. On the other hand, the American League leader among second basemen, Brian Roberts, walked 89 times in 621 at-bats. Cano continued to hit in 2007, though, ending the season with a .306 batting average.

 

His bad habits at the plate caught up with him in 2008. His batting average and on-base percentage plummeted. Pitchers had learned that he would swing at anything, so that's exactly what he got at the plate. He also earned a reputation as someone who didn't work hard, hustle or go the extra mile.

 

In the first several games of 2009, however, Cano has turned a corner. He hit the first home run in the new Yankee Stadium in an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. Then he went on in the first regular season games to do something he was not known for doing: he waited for good pitches. He walked twice in one game. Imagine that.  

 

The good results may be a carry-over from the last few weeks of the 2008 season in which he was working on with hitting coach Kevin Long to improve his swing. He met up with Long over the off-season to continue the lessons. He also played winter ball in his native Dominican Republic and he played in the World Baseball Classic. 

 

It's early in the season to judge how well the new lessons have been learned and whether he will keep them up. That's one reason to keep watching Robinson Cano play the game.

Kathleen Hobbins is a baseball fan extraordinaire. She grew up in Boston, where the Red Sox taught her to love baseball. She now lives in Chicago, where she can't choose between the Cubs and the White Sox. So her cup runs over with three home-town teams. Follow Kathleen on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/KathleenHobbins And to learn more about the New York Yankees, visit http://www.BaseballFanSiteOnline.com/New-York-Yankees