A’s outfielder Mark Canha was sipping on a glass of Lagavulin 16 scotch when he recently sat down for an interview with NBC Sports California’s Brodie Brazil, via FaceTime, of course.
Canha remained in Arizona following the cancellation of spring training and delay of MLB's Opening Day due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He stressed the importance of self-quarantining during the hiatus, but admitted he was really missing baseball. He misses his teammates for sure, but especially his time in the batter’s box.
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“Hitting a baseball is such an imperfect art, or -- maybe not an art, but an imperfect thing -- just perfection is never attainable,” he said. “So, it’s just like there’s always something to work on.”
Last season, Canha was dubbed one of the most underrated players in the game. He told NBC Sports California during spring training, he was ready to become more than that as a more well-known name this season. He mirrored those sentiments with Brazil.
“You’re always looking for more, striving to be the best you can," he said. “In my personality, I’m kind of like a workaholic -- not a workaholic, but I’ll hit in the cage until my hands bleed, kind of guy.
“I really miss it," he added.
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In 2019, he hit a career-high 26 home runs and slashed a terrific .273/.396/.517, good for a 146 wRC+.
“I suppose I could try and go out and hit right now, but it just feels like it doesn’t make any sense,” Canha said. “It’s kind of one of those things where if you’re not facing pitching, you’re going to make adjustments anyway, so what’s the point?”