Some Royals thoughts on top power hitters
For the MLB.com feature called “Around the Cage,” we asked some of the Royals about power hitting. Here’s what they had to say:
Who’s the best power hitter in the game today?
Trey Hillman: “I’d have to say Pujols. He has the ability to use all fields, hit ’em on all counts, certainly one of the most feared hitters. I would say Albert.”
Willie Bloomquist: “Pujols. I haven’t seen him play a lot but he doesn’t miss. You either walk him or he’s going to hit something hard somewhere. He’s an absolute pure hitter with a ton of pop behind it. So everything I’ve heard is pretty much on a par for what I see. He’s legit.”
Who could hit the most and the longest home runs?
Mark Teahen: “I’m gonna go with Carlos Pena, because I’ve seen him hit a couple of balls (at Kauffman Stadium) that were ridiculous.”
Hillman: “I’d say Pujols fits into both of those. Distance, I’d put Jake (Mike Jacobs) in there. We’ve seen him hit a couple that have knocked our socks off but I think we’re going to see more that have more distance than most home runs have.”
Bloomquist: “(For longest) probably Josh Hamilton. His swing is kind of made for it, especially playing in Texas which is kind of a launching pad. (For most) They don’t pitch to Pujols enough; if they’d pitch to him, no problem. I would say probably Alex Rodriguez because of the protection he has in the lineup, he’s going to get pitched to. And that stadium is kind of a band box from what I understand. So I would go with him.”
–Dick Kaegel