Jake Lamb stood at first base as a coach smashed ground ball after ground ball at him. These were not low-intensity, go-through-the-motions fungos. These were rockets, hard one-hoppers, balls that felt as close to the real thing as possible. It was exactly what Lamb wanted, what he thought he needed.
In his previous life as a third baseman, Lamb didn’t feel such a need to simulate game action. He had played so many years at third that his game clock had long since been calibrated. He knew when he had time, knew when he had to hurry.
But the morning grounders on Wednesday were Lamb’s latest attempt at becoming more comfortable at a position that still feels a little foreign.