JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -In January, Ryan Ludwick daydreamed aloud about hitting 50 home runs. Now, he’d settle for a few lousy singles.
Coming off a breakout All-Star season, the St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder has endured a broken-down start to spring training. The results: “So far, terrible,” he said with a chuckle.
Neither he nor manager Tony La Russa believe the extra muscle he added in the offseason in a quest for even bigger numbers than his 37-homer, 113-RBIs last season is the cause of his 5-for-31 start. As of Sunday, he had only two extra-base hits – both doubles – although he had five RBIs.
“I don’t think so,” Ludwick said, dismissing his physique as a cause of his problems. “I’m not too worried about it. I’ve got three weeks and I’m doing the things I need to do to get ready, and just taking it day by day.”
La Russa thinks it’s just a matter of the 30-year-old Ludwick settling into his swing. He noted Ludwick reported in great condition and weight trained as a baseball player, not as a body builder.
“I think he lifted smart,” the manager said. “He’s not bound up at all. He’s working every at-bat, tweaking it, searching for that good feeling.”
Ludwick denies his early woes have anything to do with that 50-homer talk. He’s been gently chided by the manager, who has always emphasized that home runs are byproducts and not goals.
Ludwick emphasizes that he never predicted 50 homers.
“I said ‘I dreamed about playing in the big leagues so why can’t you dream about hitting 50 home runs in the big leagues?”’ Ludwick said. “Do I think I’m going to hit 50 home runs? No. I’m just trying to play to my capabilities.”
Ludwick showed signs of emerging on Friday with two hits, including a double, against the Orioles. Time is on his side, especially after last year’s late-blooming success.
In 2008, Ludwick became only the third player in major league history to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs at age 30 while accumulating fewer than 750 at-bats in prior seasons. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only others are Hideki Matsui (2004) and Lefty O’Doul (1929).
A former second-round pick, Ludwick’s career was stalled by injuries until he got his big break with St. Louis in May 2007 to replace the injured Preston Wilson. He tied Albert Pujols for the team RBI lead last year.
n hearing. But he remains hungry.
“I never have peace of mind,” he said. “You can never be content, you can never be happy, you’ve always got to be hungry.”
Ludwick said his swing felt locked in for about half of last season, although for a month or so he remembered being “just terrible.” Each spring training he’s found his rhythm at different points.
“Sometimes you have it right away, sometimes you don’t get it till the middle of spring,” Ludwick said. “It’s just like the regular season, you have it and then you go through your little funks.”
His game plan for the rest of the spring is simple.
“Just keep swinging, like always,” Ludwick said. “Keep going. Go, go, go.”
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