For the second time in as many days, Tommy Pham will be leading things off for the St. Louis Cardinals. Yesterday Pham tripled in the first at-bat of the Grapefruit League and was awarded home on the overthrow.
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While qualifying that he would likely need at least a week to get a true gauge on his new contact lenses, Pham was pleased early on with his improved vision this year.
“So far, I do feel like there’s an improvement on seeing the two-seam or cutter and changeup,” he said recently. “Seeing the seams is really hard because the amount of time you have to translate that to the brain, but just seeing the spin–the movement of the ball, that’s what I’m seeing.”
Though not game action, Pham was still among those who regularly put on a hitting display during batting practice this spring.
“It kind of shocked me because I came into live with the lowest expectations only because I haven’t seen any, I haven’t stood in any pens,” shared Pham. “I haven’t seen any live and the first day I squared up Waino pretty good which was a shocker because, like I said, I went in with the least expectations and came out with the highest. Then on the next day, I put some good swings on Marco. You have two really good pitchers right there and the early results so far, have been really good.”
Following the live session against Wainwright, the two got together to compare notes from the at-bat.
“I noticed something on one of his pitches but he made the adjustment within the next pitch to get me out,” said Pham. “It just shows how good he is at making adjustments. But if he can help me and I can help him, it’s only going to make us better. It’s a win-win.”
Drafted in 2006, Pham was in position to have a spot on the 25-man roster last season before he injured his quadriceps in mid-March. With Jon Jay traded away, he appears to have a solid spot on the roster for 2016. But while Tommy continues to exude a confidence in his abilities, he isn’t taking that for granted.
“I come in here with the same mindset as last year and years before,” he said. “I basically need to eat to survive so I can make this team. I remember being the guy who was trying to take somebody’s job and I’m sure there’s somebody out there trying to take my job. I still have that right mindset.”
#STLCards on the road today @astros as Jaime Garcia gets the starting nod for @Cardinals pic.twitter.com/tqQCyKqjnF
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 4, 2016
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