PHILADELPHIA – The Rangers understand Willie Calhoun’s frustration with a minor league demotion. They aren’t sure, however, they get his frustration with their offensive philosophy.
A day after Calhoun said he didn’t see himself as a guy who could “hit pop-up home runs,” manager Chris Woodward said that’s great; the Rangers don’t want him to hit pop-ups either. But he wasn’t sure where there was a disconnect between the club’s approach and Calhoun’s grasp of it.
“We don’t want them to hit pop ups,” Woodward said Tuesday. “We don’t want them to hit ground balls. We want them to hit line drives. And a flat, horizontal path does not allow that to happen consistently. Just look at the best hitters in the game. They all have vertical bat angles. And that’s how they hit line drives. So, I don’t know where the disconnect is. I think he needs to take a little bit and figure out like his swing.
“And really him making it public shouldn’t happen,” Woodward added. “Frankly, that dialogue should be happening with our hitting coaches and him. I think there’s a solution to this, but he’s got to be on board and maybe learn about some things.”
Calhoun was hitting .136 when he was sent down after Sunday’s game in order for the team to keep outfielder Zach Reks as the roster was pared from 28 to 26 for the May 2 cutdown. He is expected to join Triple-A Round Rock Wednesday in Reno.
For the first month of the season, Calhoun was simply making lesser contact than he had in the past. His line drive rate of 21.1% would represent a career low. And his hard-hit rate of 37.8% is about a 10% drop from his career mark of 41.4%.
“He’s got to go down and perform,” Woodward said. “If he does, then we will consider [bringing him back up]. But he’s got to perform.”
