Just two years ago McAllen, Texas native Jorge Cantu was among the MLB’s most feared hitters.
Now after being designated for assignment by the San Diego Padres, the slugger has fallen off the wagon.
Hitters have struggles throughout their careers but most are able to turn it around. This hasn’t been the case for the big right-hander.
In 2009 Cantu was making a name for himself while playing with the Florida Marlins.
During 2009, Cantu hit 19 home runs–many of which were towering, deep drives–and drove in 100 RBIs. He wasn’t just hitting for runs he was hitting for average as well, posting a .286 avg with a .345 on base percentage and a .443 slugging percentage. Those are impressive numbers for any hitter to put up in a season, but Cantu has had a tough time staying consistent ever since.
After bouncing around from Texas back to Florida and eventually landing in San Diego, Cantu was never the same player as he was in Florida.
This season, before being released, his batting average was below the Mendoza Line at a paltry .194. He also has lost his power stroke only hitting three homers so far this year.
The reasoning behind this sudden drop off could be explained in several ways:
1. Pitchers have figured out how to pitch to Cantu. After a hitter tags a pitcher for RBI’s and homers he takes notice and works to figure out how to not get hit again. Once a pitcher does his research and learns where a hitter struggles, he will begin to dominate that hitters “cold zones” and make it difficult for the hitter to maintain the same level of production.
2. He’s bounced around too much. Cantu has only been in the league since 2005 but he has been on 5 different teams (TB, CIN, TEX, FLA, SD). After continuosly moving from team to team it’s finally having an effect.
3. He’s lost confidence. After having breakout offensive seasons he would be traded or released to free agency. It happened with the Rays and it happened with the Marlins. He had consecutive breakout seasons but then would be shipped off to a new team which is not the best confidence booster.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason that a hitter stops hitting.
Jorge Cantu is certainly no exception to this rule.
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