Switch-hitting Albies working hard on swing

ATLANTA -- As Ozzie Albies waits to learn when baseball will resume, he has been maintaining the basics of a swing that has earned him the distinction of being one of the best young switch-hitters in baseball history.

Via Instagram, Albies recently posted a video of him using a tee to hit balls into a net that sat in front of a few trees. The Braves second baseman’s repetitions provided a reminder of how much significant progress he made from the left side of the plate last year.

After Albies earned his first All-Star selection in 2018, he hit just .161 with a .492 OPS over 177 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers during that season’s second half. But by quieting his left-handed swing and becoming less pull-happy, he spent last year silencing those critics who thought he should end his days as a switch-hitter.

While batting .295 with 24 homers and an .852 OPS in 2019, Albies produced a .777 OPS from the left side. The improvements cemented his place as one of the game’s top young talents and put him in some elite company.

Albies stands with Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray as the only switch-hitters to hit .275 with at least 50 homers and an .800 OPS through the first three years of their career at age 22 or younger.