Robinson Cano is back, healthy and proving the doubters wrong
SEATTLE — It’s 3:10 p.m., and Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano stands in a batting cage on the field taking early batting practice. The game doesn’t start until 7:10 p.m., and the team isn’t scheduled to take batting practice for at least another hour, but Cano is out here early, making sure he gets as many reps as he can.
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For Cano, this is nothing new. Getting to the park early and taking extra cuts before some of his teammates even arrive is something he says he’s done throughout his entire career.
Well, except maybe last season. For the first time in his career, Cano dealt with a serious injury. Over the second half of 2015, he battled through a sports hernia. The issue didn’t keep him off the field, but it did require Cano to undergo surgery for the first time in his life.
“It was difficult,” he says. “It was the first time I had surgery. Hopefully, [it doesn’t happen] again. It was tough at first, but thank God that I went. The doctor did a really good job.”
That last part is an understatement. Now that he’s healthy again, Cano is back to putting up superstar-caliber numbers. Through 37 games, the six-time All-Star is hitting .290/.337/.574, with 12 home runs. His 155 wRC+, a advanced stat that measures a player’s offensive value, is a career high. That figure ranks 20th among all qualified hitters. At 33, Cano is putting up the best offensive numbers of his career.
That’s the type of production many expected when Cano signed a massive 10-year, $240 million with the club in 2014. Behind Cano’s hot start, the Mariners are 21-16, and tied for first place with the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
[Report: The Braves have fired manager Fredi Gonzalez after a poor start]
It’s also the type of production many wondered whether Cano would ever reach again. Injuries, including a stomach ailment, led to Cano hitting just .251/.290/.370 during the first half of the 2015 season. He rebounded to hit an incredible .331/.387/.540 in the second half while batting the hernia. The Mariners finished in fourth place, with a disappointing 76-86 record.
Cano’s strong second half brought his overall slash line to .287/.334/.446. That represents a disappointment given Cano’s track record, but it’s not like he was the worst player in the world.
One of Cano’s former coaches didn’t agree. During the offseason, former Mariners outfielders coach Andy Van Slyke gave a radio interview in which he said Cano “had probably the worst single year of an every day player that I’ve ever seen in 20 years at the big league level.” Van Slyke doubled down when asked to explain his answer by saying Cano “was just the most awful player I’ve ever seen.”
Cano responded to those quotes in February, saying Van Slyke’s comments weren’t going to bother him. A month-and-a-half into the season, it doesn’t appear they have. Cano does admit, however, that they may have given him some extra motivation to return to form coming into the year.
“Any time I hear something negative, it’s motivation for me,” he says. “Not because I want to prove people wrong, but those are the things that make me work harder every single day.”
That extra work, including the early batting practice, has paid off. Those who criticized Cano for his struggles last season have had to eat some crow, and it feels good to prove the doubters wrong.
[Elsewhere: Brad Ausmus left multiple pieces of his uniform on the field during this post-ejection tirade]
“Oh yeah, of course,” he laughs. “You don’t want to be in everybody’s mind all the time in a negative way. Thank God that I’m healthy and that I’m able to help the team win.”
Behind his hot start, the Mariners have done just that. If Cano can continue this pace, the Mariners figure to be a strong contender in the AL West. Given his track record, the odds seem good. Now that he’s finally healthy, Cano is producing like everyone expected.
Well, except for the doubters, but you don’t hear much from them these days.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
