Former Dodger Joey Gallo Addresses Time with LA, 'I Was in a Bad Spot'
When the Dodgers acquired two-time All-Star Joey Gallo at the trade deadline last year, it was a great low risk, high reward move for a team that didn't have too many glaring holes. Unfortunately, Andrew Friedman and company were not exactly rewarded.
Gallo hit just .163 over 44 games with LA, mashing 7 home runs but putting together an OPS of just .671, slightly better than the .621 he posted with the Yankees. He came to the Dodgers as a project for hitting coach Robert Von Scoyoc, but with where his everything was at, it was a project out of RVS's realm of expertise.
While in town with the Twins, Gallo caught up with AM570 LA Sports Radio and talked all about his time in blue and how this past offseason was something the doctor ordered. For him, and old friend Cody Bellinger, who was brought up in the conversation.
“As a hitter, when I came here, I was in a bad spot. Mentally, I was pretty defeated. But also my swing was at a point where I felt like it was tough to fix and it needed an overhaul. I needed that time off. I think even with Bellinger, I know him well and we just played them [the Cubs], so I got to talk to him. I think we kind of needed that. You need that time off. You need that three, four months to kind of revamp everything, forget about the season and just kind of move on.
"They did everything they could here to help me and help me get on track. I think I contributed to some wins for the team and did alright, but I wasn’t the best player I could be. But I think they did as much as they could and tried to help me.”
Gallo made the postseason roster for the Dodgers but didn't factor into any games. Now with Minnesota, he's in a much better spot. The batting average isn't great hovering around .200, but his game isn't average. It's power and on-base. And his on-base of .882 is the second best of his career.
He's helping the first place Twins win some ballgames in the AL Central and that's a nice thing for an otherwise nice dude.
