Rizzo, Russell, Heyward Homer in Split-Squad Sessions
As of post time, there weren’t videos of the first home runs of the Spring for both Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward, though that doesn’t mean we were lacking for descriptions. Heyward’s shot came in the top of the 1st against the Royals and the stats on the batted-ball velocity lent a little credence to the idea that he’ll be displaying a little more power this season.
Jason Heyward's HR had an exit velocity of 107 MPH…. He only hit one HR harder than that last season.
— Daren Willman (@darenw) March 7, 2016
According to MLB Gameday, the shot traveled 385 feet, but that doesn’t sound nearly as magnificent as how Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation made it sound.
BOOM! Jason Heyward just hit his first Spring homer with the Cubs. The game isn’t televised, so we’ll all just have to use our imaginations. I see the ball heading out on a line, blasting through a building in the outfield, blowing a hole out the back, leaving a trail of candy behind it (the building was full of candy).
Taste the rainbow, indeed. Let’s just hope no one beyond the outfield fence catches a bad case of Skittles pox. I’m guessing more than a few onlookers suffered strained necks, though, as Anthony Rizzo launched a monster home run 453 to center in the 3rd. For more on that story, we go back to Daren Willman.
Rizzo's 1st AB, he hit the ball 106 MPH. His 2nd AB was a HR hit 114 MPH. He only hit one ball harder than that all last year. #LockedIn
— Daren Willman (@darenw) March 7, 2016
In case you were wondering, the only ball Rizz hit harder came on August 24th when he tripled on a rocket that came off his bat at 114.5 mph. Nice to see these two lefties already making such good contact at this early juncture.
Speaking of good contact, I’ve been expecting Addison Russell to make a lot more of it this season. He did just that Monday afternoon in the other half of the split-squad games, driving a shot out to left against the Rockies. Fortunately, we do have video of that one, courtesy of Jesse Rogers.
Like buttah. Even with the muffled audio, the sound of bat on ball is arousing. Oh boy, this lineup is gonna be fun to watch when they’re all together and playing in real games.
