Rougned Odor stepped into the batting cage Wednesday with a goal in mind, even if the exact avenue to achieve it was fuzzy. The Orioles second baseman had felt off the night before, striking out three times. So before Wednesday’s outing, the 28-year-old vowed to take as many swings as he could, finding his rhythm once more to continue a hot stretch at the plate.
Odor lost count of how many swings it took — perhaps 100, maybe more. But the end result left Tuesday’s results in the trash and brought Wednesday’s possibilities to the forefront of his mind. He went on to hit a home run, a validation that his batting cage reset had been necessary.
It’s all about a feeling. Odor can’t really explain it — he’s always confident, but some days at the park he reaches another level. On those days in the batting cage, he challenges co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller to get him out.
