CHICAGO — With 63 career homers entering his ninth big league season and never more than the 17 he hit in 2014, Brett Gardner was never considered a power threat by anybody with even the slimmest hitting knowledge of the left fielder.
Yet, when he started the season without a homer or an RBI in the first 18 games (16 of which he started) in which Gardner appeared, there were some questions.
Was the strained neck and sore jaw from a collision with the Rays’ Rickie Weeks Jr. at first base on April 12 hindering his swing?