ANAHEIM, CALIF. – One area Robbie Grossman wanted to address this season is being more aggressive early in the count.
It's not an easy adjustment, because the Twins switch hitter has established himself as a player who is not afraid to be in 3-2 counts. Still, he knows there are times when the combination of knowing pitchers' habits as well as recognizing what his reputation is indicates that he should attack early.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I'm getting to the point where I'm trying to be aggressive when I get a good pitch early in the count and I think it will improve my game."
Grossman was 6-for-34 (.176) last season when he put the first pitch in play. This season, he's already 10-for-23 (.435) with two home runs.
He has been able to adjust while not getting away from what has made him valuable to the Twins. He entered Saturday fourth in the American League with a .415 on-base percentage and 10th in walks with 29. With Kennys Vargas and a struggling Byung Ho Park at Class AAA Rochester, Grossman figures to get most of the at-bats as the designated hitter with occasional stints in the outfield.
Grossman is one of the first players in the clubhouse every day. He studies opposing pitchers intently, even keeping notes on some. And he's trying to eliminate weaknesses.
Manager Paul Molitor has noticed, particularly when Grossman has gone after the first pitch.
"At first it caught me off-guard a few times, when he would ambush," Molitor said. "When you get a reputation of a guy in which part of his damage is that he can make you throw a lot of pitches and draw walks, guys have a tendency to try to get strike one."
