Angels Young Star Says He Has Better Understanding of What He's Capable of After Offseason Work
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On April 20 of last year, Logan O'Hoppe went down in the batter's box. He grimaced in pain as the trainers went to check on him. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder and missed the next four months.
O'Hoppe returned in late August and hit nine homers in 26 games in September. Last season, he hit .236/.296/.500 with 14 homers, six doubles, and 29 RBIs in 51 games.
Heading into this year, he wants to build off his early successes from last season.
“Just trying to continue to do what I was doing last year. Just feel out the game a little more and assess where I'm at and what the game is asking me to do. And I feel like I got a better understanding of what I'm capable of doing at the plate last year. This offseason I just worked on things that I felt like I needed to improve on this year.”
O'Hoppe believes that he is part of a young core that is going to turn around the struggling franchise that hasn't been to the postseason in nine years, and manager Ron Washington believes that O'Hoppe is a natural leader.
For everyone on the Angels team, the process they are going through is for Opening Day. Until then, O'Hoppe will continue to develop into a stronger and maybe calmer presence if Washington has any influence on him.
