I went to a charity event at the Ballpark Tuesday night and saw Joey Gallo speak. He talked about his year and his struggles in the past.

He talked about how he was filled with self-doubt. How he didn’t know if he would make it. And he said it took him coming to grips with the fact that he is not a normal major league hitter. His numbers aren’t going to be “right.” He will always be an oddity, and that’s okay.

The hardest part was social media. Everywhere he turned he saw people doubting him, dogging him. So he totally shut it off. Shut off all the influences. And just went back to being an oddball hitter and not worrying about batting average or other things.

Gallo is a .200 hitter with 40 home runs. That’s what he is. That’s what he will be. He is okay with that.

Others have had decent careers like that. Mark Reynolds, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo come to mind as current players. Of course, there’s Dave Kingman, the blueprint for the all or nothing guy.

If Gallo can continue drawing more walks and be a bit more selective at the plate, if he can get his OBP up a bit, he can offer so much more than a home run every four games.

All in all, Gallo was likable, self-deprecating and a guy you want to root for.