Cardinals rookie Juan Yepez can still remember the at-bat when he decided he needed a second stance at the plate and the voice, echoing still years later, that got him thinking.
During extended spring training in 2019, two years before his breakout, Yepez stood at the plate during a back-field game with runners in scoring position. Jose Oquendo, the Cardinals’ longtime coach and infield guru, shouted that all Yepez had to do to provide a run for his team was “put the ball in play.”
Yepez had a stance for that.
He widened his feet. He went from a leg kick to a tap.