Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon has a new look, as he has cut his hair much shorter than it was last season.
“It is home in a plastic bag. I am going to use it for something later,” Rendon said Wednesday. “It was too long, it was too much to maintain.”
But Rendon plans to keep the same approach at the plate, even with Nationals new hitting coach Kevin Long.
Rendon, a product of Rice University in Houston, hit .301 with 25 homers and 100 RBIs last season with Washington.
“He is one of the quiet players and one of the best in the game,” new Nationals manager Davey Martinez said after workouts Wednesday. “You know he is coming to compete every day. He just wants to come out and play; I don’t want to change that.”
What has it been like for Rendon to work with Long, the former hitting coach of the New York Mets and New York Yankees?
“We just feel each other out. You try to get into a routine,” Rendon said.
Rendon realizes that Long is the hitting coach who helped the progress of Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, who hit seven postseason homers with the Mets in 2015.
Rendon said that Murphy and Long speak the same language, when referring to launch angles and exit velocity.
“I try to keep it simple. I do use one of his terms – get my ’A’ swing off,” said Rendon, referring to Murphy.
Rendon also as a new manager in Martinez, who takes over for Dusty Baker.
“The first couple of days (of spring training) were laid back. We are trying to get into the swing of things,” Rendon said. “We want to ease back into the basics.”
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