To say Ramón Laureano was a workhorse would be an understatement. He’s not only the first guy to show up, but he’s more than likely been at practice an hour before he was required to be.
That’s how he’s always been, even before his days at Northeast Oklahoma A&M. It appears that’s how he’ll always be.
Even with the time limits implemented during a spring training in the midst of a global pandemic, Laureano putting in the extra hours.
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“Yeah, they set some times here, but I just break the rules, to be honest with you,” Laureano said Friday. “I just show up an hour early to be honest, because I don’t get my time. It just takes time away from my routine. Hopefully in the season, it’s good right now, but hopefully in the season, hopefully it’s just normal times that we can show up instead of five hours before the game.”
Laureano still is maintaining social distance and wearing masks during this rule-breaking, of course.
Laureano was an AL Gold Glove finalist in 2020, and Melvin said he should win it every year, simply based on his theatrics. But opposing teams are picking up on him and he said he noticed runners no longer were testing him and running on him should the ball be within a certain radius.
Smart.
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Laureano said he gave himself about a week off during the offseason and was right back working out again. He worked on baserunning and his defensive game, specifically improving on his first step that he improved on last season.
That’s because, as Melvin explained, Laureano never is satisfied with where he’s at. It’s admittedly an obsession for the outfielder.
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“He’s always going to look to get better and that just starts with the curiosity he has which, I get text messages from him during the offseason, and they kind of surprise me because he never stops in his quest to be a better baseball player,” Melvin said.
Laureano … even better? Sign me up.