On Friday at U.S. Cellular Field, Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer looked over his right shoulder in the first inning of his team’s game against the Chicago White Sox and stared down one of MLB’s best pitchers, lefty Chris Sale.
Hosmer won the battle. Kansas City’s left-handed slugger homered to left field.
Then, in the top of the fourth inning, he faced Sale again. Same result: an opposite-field homer that seemed to erase any doubts that Hosmer has solidified his standing as one of the game’s elite hitters.
The first of those home runs, by the way, marked only the fourth time a left-handed hitter had gone yard off Sale in the pitcher’s seven-year career. Hosmer was only the second lefty to hit two in a game off Sale.
So, it appears Sale is the American League’s litmus test for left-handed power hitters—if not every hitter—and it’s safe to say Hosmer passed the test.
The 26-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career, hitting .317/.374/.525 through Tuesday’s games. All are career highs for the three-time reigning AL Gold Glove winner.
Credit Hosmer’s approach for his rise to elite status.
He has always been able to spray to all sides of the field. But this year, Hosmer has been hitting more balls the opposite way. According to FanGraphs, through Tuesday, Hosmer was pulling the ball 35.6 percent of the time, hitting to center at a rate of 27.8 percent and going opposite field on 36.6 percent of batted balls.
Previously, the highest frequency at which Hosmer went the other way was 31.4 percent in 2013.
“With lefties, that’s my approach,” Hosmer said. “I try [to] keep that front shoulder in and try to shoot it, and if it happens to be a breaking ball, that could help me stay on it a little better. So yeah, against lefties, that’s definitely the approach is try to look that way.”
Hosmer is having his George Clooney moment in 2016.
When Clooney starred on network TV, playing Dr. Doug Ross on ER, his talent went unheralded. Then, he left the show to do studio pictures and started making big bucks. His flair was finally recognized.
Playing in small-market Kansas City is to baseball what network television is to acting. Sure, you’re getting exposure, but not nearly as much as an actor in a studio picture or a baseball player in a larger market.
But after the Royals won the World Series last year, they earned more attention. Kansas City became a little more Hollywood with Hosmer as its star.
Now, the baseball world is captivated—or at least it should be—by the first baseman’s performance. And Hosmer’s numbers this season have helped his ascension to the short list of first basemen any team would want.
Hosmer’s batting average and slugging percentage rank tops among players at his position. Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown in 2012 and is a two-time AL MVP, is second in both categories. But at 33, Cabrera’s reign as the game’s top first baseman is nearing an end. Hosmer is the heir apparent.
As of Tuesday, only three first baseman were hitting above .300, including Cabrera (.305) and the San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt (.301).
“He’s been able to do it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Hosmer’s ability to hit to all fields. “That’s always been his strength. His ability to pull the ball now has probably been more of a product of the higher batting average—having a smarter, better plan when he steps into the batter’s box—and having the ability to go out and try to accomplish it. He’s just becoming a smarter, more experienced hitter.”
It’s no secret the rules of baseball are rigged like a casino game.
Baseball is designed so pitchers win the majority of matchups with hitters. In fact, the best hitters in MLB are less likely to get a hit than anyone is to win a hand of blackjack.
That’s not to encourage you to rush to Las Vegas and put it to the test.
It’s only to say that the compliment Royals second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield gave Hosmer is the highest any hitter can receive.
“It’s not surprising, but it’s very impressive,” Merrifield said of Hosmer’s season. “He’s got unbelievable power. When you put that with a great approach, it’s hard to stop him, and, really, when he makes outs, it’s because he gets himself out. Very rarely does a pitcher get him out, which is a huge compliment to him and the approach he has and the abilities he has. He’s done some great things this year.”
So, while hitters are traditionally the ones tested in matchups between great hurlers and batters, Hosmer is an exception.
The White Sox and the Royals play each other six more times this season. Hosmer and Sale are likely to face each other again.
But next time, it will be Hosmer administering the test.
Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Talk baseball with Seth by following him on Twitter @SethGruen.
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