New Kids on the Block: young clubbers edition
With Luis Robert graduated to the majors, the two biggest right-handed bats in the White Sox organization sat down to talk before Monday's intrasquad game. Both guys hit back-to-back in the lineup today, and both are pretty jazzed about getting a chance to make MLB debuts in this crazy 2020.
"I know the White Sox know Mercedes can hit," Mercedes Bo Jacksons himself. "I don’t want to feel [a hitter is] all I am. Working hard is the key."
"I love the challenge," Vaughn says. "That’s why we play baseball. [If I was called up] I’d be extremely pumped up and ready to go."
While Vaughn says all of the right things when it comes to his readiness for the next step(s), including a tip from José Abreu to use a smaller infielder's glove for his defensive drills at first base, Mercedes is a little less ... by the book.
The guy who would tweet out "HI CHICAGO" after every home run hit this spring training seems very aware of his growing cult status in the city.
"I love the fans," he grins. "I know that Chicago fans love me and want me to play in Chicago. Just wait, when they give me the opportunity I’ll do the best for me and you fans. I know the people are crazy to see me. Everybody wants me here. Wait a couple of days, and we’ll see."
For the full Yermín Mercedes experience, courtesy of the White Sox, watch below:
And for the full Andrew Vaughn session, thanks to the White Sox, watch below:
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.
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