Just having Reggie Jackson around does wonders for Raul Mondesi’s confidence.
“See you guys tonight after a great game,” was the way Mondesi ended a pre-game session with reporters yesterday after spending time around the hitting cage and at his locker with Jackson, the Hall of Fame slugger whose work with Mondesi during spring training resulted in the Yankees’ right fielder enjoying a strong first two months. Since then Mondesi has struggled and was benched briefly for one game on July 10.
“Reggie puts his arm around him,” Joe Torre said of Mondesi, who was on a 5-for-12 (.417) hot streak going into last night’s game. “Raul is a real sensitive guy. He is rough and tough and aggressive but we are all human. Reggie relates to him. Reggie has spent a lot of time with him.”
It’s not a coincidence that Mondesi, who ended the first half of the season hurt (left wrist) and in a 5-for-38 (.132) funk rebounded when Jackson surfaced in The Bronx Thursday. Jackson installed a left foot tapping device to keep Mondesi back in spring training but that’s not the most important thing he has done for Mondesi.
“He talks to me a lot,” Mondesi said. “I feel good when he talks to me.”
Jackson, who never shies from the spotlight, refuses to take credit for Mondesi doing well when he is around.
“I am here as a member of the support staff,” said Jackson, who leaves the club today. “I am here to remind some guys of things they may have forgotten and remind them of things they obviously know. There are no magic pills. You have to do it yourself. No matter what the hitting coach or pitching coach or a support guy like myself tells a player, you are all alone at the plate. We can help remind them but they are doing it themselves.”
While Mondesi, who started last night’s action batting .264 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs, likes having Jackson in his ear telling him he can be a productive force, Mondesi understands that Jackson can’t be around consistently.
“I know he can’t be here all the time but when he is here, I feel better at the plate,” Mondesi said.
When the Yankees say they aren’t planning to add a bat it’s because they hope Mondesi can return to the hitter he was in April and May when he batted .301 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs. He, too, is looking for a big finish because after hinting at retirement a year ago at this time, Mondesi wants to continue playing.
“I want to play for a winning team,” said Mondesi who will be a free agent at the end of the season.
In his perfect world, Mondesi returns to the Yankees, who haven’t told him anything about their right field plans which likely don’t include Mondesi, who will be 33 in March.
“Of course,” Mondesi said about wanting to return to The Bronx. “But I don’t know anything yet. I want to finish good and win a World Series and see what happens.”
Jackson makes sure he isn’t stepping on toes when he works with Mondesi.
“I have talked to [hitting coach] Rick Down as much as I talk with Raul,” Jackson said. “I have talked to Joe Torre as much as I do with Raul. I try to put [Raul] in a frame of mind so he can be an asset to the club.”
Which he is when Jackson is around.
