Joey Gallo has been heating up of late, posting a 1.032 OPS over his last 11 games heading into the new week, but stumbled on Monday night by striking out four times in a hitless night.
It is part of what comes with Gallo, who led the league in both strikeouts and walks last year. But the outfielder says he knows who he is, and can only look to maximize it rather than change his identity at the plate.
“I have to find value because I’m not able to get more hits,” Gallo told NJ.com’s Randy Miller. “I had to work on my walk rate and take more pitches. Defensively, I knew I had to improve, too, because I don’t want to be just a slugger.
“I didn’t change my game to be a three-true-outcomes guy. I’ve been a three-true-outcomes guy since I was 10 years old. When I started hearing about advanced stats more and more, I liked it because it actually made me seem like a good player when everybody was saying I’m not. They have metrics now to show there’s more than this guy’s game than just looking at the scoreboard and seeing .190.”
Gallo told Miller that he would like to be more of a contact hitter, but his current style at the plate, which includes a plethora of the three true outcomes, has been at the forefront since he was in high school. It has shown in his big league career as well, as his batting average rarely eclipsed .200, and he is currently hitting .191 on the season, but in terms of OPS+, is right on the cusp of league average.
“I wish I was DJ LeMahieu. I don’t get how he hits the ball so much,” Gallo said. “A lot of times, I wish I was a contact hitter, but I’m playing the hand that I was dealt.”
Gallo hasn’t been well received by a large contingent of Yankee fans, and has heard plenty of boos during his brief pinstriped tenure, mainly due to frustration with his frequent strikeouts and prolonged slumps since being acquired from the Rangers. Many fans also groan that Gallo is unable to take advantage of the drastic shifts that he sees in the field in front of him, with some teams even deploying a four-man outfield against him. But Gallo says it’s not that easy, and the type of hitter you see at the plate now is the one you will continue to see.
“It usually would make the slump worse because now I go up there with a less aggressive mindset,” Gallo told Miller about hitting against the shift. “I start swinging at more pitches because I think I can hit everything and then I start changing my swing and I manipulate my angle to the ball. I’m trying to hit a ground ball to left field and getting caught late. It actually makes it worse.
“I don’t know how to be a guy who can shoot the ball the other way and play small ball, essentially. At this level, you can’t just switch. You have to play to what your strengths are.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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