MEXICO CITY — It’s a little thing, a trigger at the front of a swing that’s hardly noticed by spring training fans paying more attention to popcorn and smart phones.
It’s an enormous thing, though, in the hitting development of San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges.
When the 23-year-old lifts his front foot — a timing mechanism Padres hitting coach Alan Zinter tabbed “Dancing with the Pitcher” — it’s a little ball-driving mambo and merengue all wrapped into one.
The result: The man who hit .168 last season in 137 at-bats sat at a robust .