Is this the Gallo we’ve been waiting for? 347 comments


Joey Gallo draws three walks in the Rangers 4-0 victory over the Astros to take the major league league at seven.

 

Never mind 4-2, the Rangers record at this point.

Never mind 4-0, the score of last night’s gem thrown by Mike Minor.

What’s important is 7-6. That’s the walk-to-strikeout ration for Joey Gallo so far this season. If that continues in some vicinity, it changes everything. If there is indeed going to be a transformation, or a maturity, of these young hitters from strikeout machines to offensive threats, it all starts with Gallo and his ability to read the strike zone.

In the past he swing more than a broken gate door in a hurricane. If the ball got anywhere near the plate, he’d swing. Once he swung at a pitch that was being shown on the Jumbotron.

The .209 hitting, .312 on-base percentage Joey Gallo isn’t an offensive threat even hitting 40 home runs. He was like broccoli. An occassional nuisance but nothing go out of your way to avoid.

But this .222 hitting, .440 on-base percentage Joey Gallo is a menace. He changes everything. Suddenly, you cannot just pitch around him and hope in the rare instance he doesn’t get a hold of one. Now you have to be careful. And be careful with the batter in front of him. It make the lineup legitimate.

Ninety percent of hitting, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, is half mental. Its all confidence. Gallo looked absolutely lost at the plate his first two seasons. He is getting more and more selective. He’s leading the league in walks, if you can believe that.

This Joey Gallo is a certain all-star. This Joey Gallo could even be more than that.

Let’s hope this is truly the beginning of this Joey Gallo.

The Rangers could use it.

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TODAY’S GAME:

Edinson Volquez (0-0, 9.00) vs. Matt Harvey (0-0, 3.00)
Game time: 9:07