The Athletics beat the Tigers on Sunday, 8-6, thanks to a walk-off home run off the bat of Ryon Healy, but another homer in the game should have turned some heads as well. A's first baseman Yonder Alonso clubbed his ninth home run of the season.
The home run tied Alonso's career high for home runs in a season. He hit nine homers in 155 games in 2012. He had seven last season in 156 games. And now, in just 29 games and 101 plate appearances, Alonso already has nine home runs.
Here's a look at his two-homer game on Saturday night, the first multi-homer game of Alonso's career:
So far this year, Alonso is hitting .311/.386/.667 with five doubles, nine homers and 24 RBI. His career high in slugging percentage is .393 and he's dwarfing that.
What is going on?
It appears that a change in approach has greatly helped Alonso to date. Back in mid-March, he said the following to Eno Sarris of Fangraphs.com:
"Did some mechanical things but also intent was important," Alonso said in camp. "I'm trying to punish it more, get it in the air."
It's an overwhelming success so far. Check out the difference a year has made (these numbers are only through Saturday):
| Alonso's Year | Line drive percentage | Ground ball percentage | Fly ball percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 22.5 | 44.1 | 33.3 |
2017 | 24.6 | 26.2 | 49.2 |
His focus on hitting more balls in the air has come to fruition and it's reflected in his early-season power surge.
Alonso has long had good plate discipline and has put together a few good seasons at the plate, but the power game has been severely lacking. If he's truly added that element for good, he'll be worth far more than the $4 million the A's are paying him this season. He'll also pad his upcoming payday in free agency this coming offseason.
