MLB DEPARTMENT

As the summer heats up, so too do the Fish

Fish Story

Getty Images

"Heck yea, brah."

Hear the one about the surging, big-hitting Marlins? It's completely true.
By Tim Kurkjian

While home runs throughout baseball are dropping like the housing market, Florida's long-ball numbers are rising like Hanley Ramírez's bank account. Who needs Miguel Cabrera or a new bandbox ballpark? "It would be scary if we played in a small park," says Dan Uggla.

Despite playing in cavernous Dolphin Stadium, the upstart Marlins rank among baseball's leaders in homers and are on pace to set a franchise record. (The 2007 Fish hit 201.) Every hitter, one through eight, can go deep, but cornerstone shortstop Ramírez—who just signed a six-year, $70M deal—second baseman Uggla, first baseman Mike Jacobs and leftfielder Josh Willingham have been especially productive. They're all younger than 30 and on pace for big power numbers. And they're doing it with distinctly different strokes.

After finishing one homer shy of 30/30 last season, the 24-year-old Ramírez could go 40/40 this year. "He takes the same path to the ball every time," Uggla says. "The barrel of his bat stays in the hitting zone for a long time. It helped having Miguel here the past few years. Hanley followed him."

Uggla's secret comes from "swinging as hard as anyone I've ever seen, every time," says teammate and 19-year vet Luis Gonzalez, laughing. Adds Willingham, "His swing is straight from beer-league softball." The 28-year-old Uggla has great pull power, but he can also go yard to right-centerfield. "I guess I know only one way to do things," he says, "and that's with maximum effort."

The lefty-hitting Jacobs generates power with a high finish that allows him to get the ball airborne. "His swing reminds me of Will Clark's," Gonzalez says. Jacobs, who's 27, remembers Clark but says that he grew up emulating Chipper Jones. Like Jones, Jacobs often uses a big bat—34 inches. "The extra length might mean more homers," he says.

Then there's Willingham, the eldest at 29. "He's just brute strength," Uggla says. Adds Gonzalez, "He gator-arms balls out of the park." Willingham's 6'2", but his arms are short for his size, so he can look for the ball away and still pull the inside pitch. Jacobs (left quad) and Willingham (lower back) have been slowed by injuries recently, but they'll be back at full strength soon, swinging for the fences.

Bang from the Buc

Nate McLouth is ready for his close up

By Matt Meyers

Growing up in tiny Whitehall, Mich. (pop. 2,829), Pirates centerfielder Nate McLouth idolized Ken Griffey Jr. But after McLouth turned pro in 2000, he played more like Junior's dad—a line-drive hitter with good speed.

Until this season, that is. At 5'11", 180 pounds, the 26-year-old McLouth doesn't look like a slugger, but with 11 homers through mid-May he has replaced his childhood hero as one of the NL Central's prime power sources. How'd that happen? "He's not trying to lift the ball," says Pirates hitting coach Don Long. "He's hitting through it, driving it, and he's strong enough to hit some out of the park."

Back at Whitehall High eight years ago, McLouth stole 51 bases in a row and was Michigan's Gatorade Player of the Year. He was ready to fulfill his dream of playing for the U. of Michigan when the Pirates drafted him in the 25th round and gave him a $500K bonus to skip college ball.

In 2002, the lefthanded hitter stalled at Class-A Lynchburg, where he batted .244. "The pitchers threw breaking balls in different counts," McLouth says. "I repeated the level and provedI could make adjustments."

In five minor league seasons, he stole 146 bases while hitting just 40 homers. But last year in Pittsburgh, he foreshadowed a power surge by hitting 13 dingers in 329 at-bats. Now the Pirates have moved him out of the leadoff spot to No. 2 or No. 3 so he can drive in more runs.

"Whether it's defense one day, a home run another day and a stolen base the next, I like to think I can do a little bit of everything," McLouth says.

Though he doesn't think he'll ever be as good as his idol, right now he looks a little bit like a junior Griffey.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine