Two-day Chase Headley this season is already better than all-of-April Headley from last season combined with a week-and-half of May Headley. Either that shows you how well Headley has played in the first couple of days this year or it shows how completely terrible he was early last season. It’s probably mostly the latter but everyone, Headley most of all, has to be feeling some relief at the early results.
In just two games this season, here’s Headley’s stat line:
3R, 5H, 2RBI, 1HR, .625BA, 1.625OPS
Now yes small sample sizes might not be worth much. But get this. Do you know when Chase Headley smashed his first home run last season? May 12th. Yes, you read that right. In fact, Headley didn’t even hit his first double until May 15th. His third RBI didn’t come until May 10th. His sixth hit until April 10th.
Not to mention that Headley’s defense thus far has been great. He made an incredible grab last night on a line drive. The guy even stole a base when he stole just eight all of last season.
What may be most impressive to me is his early efforts to beat the shift. In the first game he had two hits squib down towards third where nobody was playing thanks to the shift. Both were hits. The more he can force defenses to honor his ability to do that, the better off he’ll be hitting normally. It was something both Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann were never able to do.
It’s early yet, but after a terrible spring and terrible early start last season, it’s good to see Headley get off to a fast start.
