Mariners’ Justin Smoak changes his approach, diet

By 710Sports.com staff

Justin Smoak’s blistering start to last season included a .303 average, four home runs, 15 RBIs and a .989 on-base plus slugging percentage through 20 games.

Then, by his own admission, the Mariners first baseman became overly aggressive.

“Everything started off great. I got to a point where it was, ‘Alright, I can hit [home runs].’ And so I started trying to and the next thing you know you look for a certain pitch to hit in a certain location and you don’t get that pitch that at bat. You strike out or you ground out or you don’t do what you need to do to help the team out,” he told “Bob and Groz” on Tuesday.

“And so it’s one of those things where early on last year it was kind of hit it where it’s pitched and good things happen for me. That’s the plan going into this year.”

Smoak is hoping the changes he made to his approach — and to his diet — will translate into a more productive season.

Bob and Groz discuss that possibility in the video below.

You can download Tuesday’s podcast here.

You might also like …
Keith Law expects Mariners’ Justin Smoak to improve