GLENDALE, Ariz.– Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. had a bat in his hand as he talked with colleagues Oscar Colás and Eloy Jiménez near the Camelback Ranch batting cages Monday early morning.
Robert placed on a program in the back fields later on in the day, striking the ball tough to all parts of the field.
The 26-year-old was secured throughout the very first complete team exercise of the spring as he wants to build on last season.
What a 2023 it was for Robert, who set profession highs in a number of offending classifications while making All-Star and Silver Slugger Award honors.
“My most significant takeaway was I had the ability to remain healthy and play the quantity of video games I played,” Robert stated through an interpreter Monday. “I played a great deal of video games (a career-best 145) which was something that I wished to do.”
Robert is positive there is another level.
“I can enhance on little things that I didn’t do in addition to I desired,” he stated. “I believe I can enhance on those little things, and if I do, it’s going to be a method much better season.”
Robert slashed.264/.315/.542 with 36 doubles, 38 crowning achievement, 80 RBIs, 90 runs, 20 taken bases and an.857 OPS. The doubles, crowning achievement, RBIs, runs and taken base overalls are career-bests.
He connected for 2nd in the American League in extra-base hits (75 ), 3rd in crowning achievement and punching portion, 5th in OPS (.857 ), seventh in overall bases (296) and OPS+ (103.1) and connected for ninth in doubles.
Supervisor Pedro Grifol saw the work Robert put in last spring and how it settled.
“I’ve had a couple of gamers in my profession that I would never ever even imagine setting objectives for even if you simply do not understand what their cap is,” Grifol stated. “I’m constantly reluctant to state, ‘OK, this is the objective,’ and type of limitation him to that when he’s got a heck of a lot more. And he’s one of them.
“He struck 38 homers in 2015. He had a terrific year. The most vital part is that he wishes to be fantastic. Which puts him in a position to have fantastic offseasons. You see him run around the bases today, quite, quite electrical. And this is among the guys that in 2015 I needed to sort of decrease a bit in the spring and simply state relax, and now that I understand him, that’s his DNA which’s how he likes to set about it which’s what gets him prepared for the season.”
Robert ended up being the very first gamer in franchise history to tape 35-plus doubles, 35-plus crowning achievement, 80-plus RBIs, 90-plus runs and 20-plus taken bases in a single season.
MLB Network just recently ranked him the No. 27 gamer in the majors in the network’s “Top 100 gamers today” list.
Robert smiled when inquired about all the favorable acknowledgment.
“That has actually been among my objectives since I came here and signed with this company– simply be the very best gamer that I can be,” he stated. “Unfortunately, the previous season injuries and all this things type of avoided me from being that sort of gamer. In 2015 was an advance. That’s what I work for every day, to be the very best gamer I can be.”
Robert missed out on the last 6 video games of 2023 after suffering a moderate left knee MCL sprain on Sept. 24 in Boston. After one month of healing, he went back to activities in preparation for 2024.
Robert remained in the news this offseason after reports he altered his representation to Boras Corp.
“You are constantly considering your future,” Robert stated. “But I still have 4 more years with this company and I do not believe method ahead of that. I like to consider today, today, since that’s what I can manage.
“You can’t have an excellent future if you do not have an excellent present which’s why I do not wish to believe too far.”
In today, Robert wants to increase his batting average and reduce his strikeouts while preserving the power numbers.
“Last year, I had a hard time a bit with strikeouts (a team-high 172) however I believe that’s something that I can manage the strikeouts, I can avoid,” he stated. “If I do, then the average is going to exist in addition to the crowning achievement.”