Jacoby Ellsbury has barely resembled the player the Yankees hoped they were getting when they signed him to a $153 million deal prior to the 2014 season, and it’s up to hitting coach Alan Cockrell to try to straighten out the center fielder.
“We talk about that all the time, going back to doing some of the things Jacoby did and staying with it [and] not changing lanes so often,” Cockrell said Thursday. “For me, the biggest thing for Jacoby is moving his contact back out front a little bit more. I’ve never seen a guy hit the catcher’s mitt like he did [last year], and to be honest, when his contact point is three or four inches more out front from where it is right now, he can stay on balls.