Ian Desmond got a pep talk from none other than Cal Ripken Jr.
While the Washington Nationals have worked their way to the top of the NL East, starting shortstop Ian Desmond has yet to find his groove.
The NL Silver Slugger recipient at shortstop in each of the last three seasons, Desmond has struggled at the plate this season. He’s hitting a lowly .208/.251/.335 in 88 games, but he may have found just what he needs to spark a second half bounce back: a few words of encouragement from Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., who was at Nationals Park over the weekend as part of the TBS broadcast crew.
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“It’s funny, the other day I was walking to the park and Cal Ripken was out there signing autographs in the parking lot. He kind of grabbed me and said ‘you know, back in ’93 through the first 80 games I was hitting .199 and I finished with a pretty good year. You’re going to be alright.’ That kind of gave me a little bit of hope. Alright, if he did it and grinded through it, then I can too. That’s kind of the mentality I already had, but it’s nice to have that reassurance. You never know where it’s going to come from or who is going to be the person that lifts you up. You’ve gotta keep your ears and eyes open all the time.”
Desmond was a little off with the number of games, Ripken’s average dropped to .199 after 47 games in 1993, but the point remains the same. Even Hall of Famers have had stretches during their careers where the game isn’t coming so easily to them. Ripken finished the 1993 season with a .257 average, 24 home runs and 90 RBIs.
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The Nationals sure hope Ripken’s story resonates with Desmond, who homered in Washington’s 7-2 win Monday night, because a productive Desmond will make the Nats even more dangerous down the stretch and into October.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
