Heading into the 2021 season the Los Angeles Dodgers expected Gavin Lux to bounce back and earn the starting job at second base. However, the former top prospect got off to a rough start and also missed some time due to right wrist soreness.
It was the latest setback for Lux, who was delayed in reporting and played minimally during the 2020 season that was shortened by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Lux recently described how difficult the past two years were for him and noted most of the issues stemmed from self-criticism, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“I’d wake up in the middle of the night and how you were playing would be the first thing I thought about,” Lux said recently. “I was just bottled up in my apartment, thinking about how bad I was playing the entire day. That would roll into the next day. I’d wake up in the morning and it just, I wasn’t feeling good. It was a big snowball effect.”
Lux further explained he had to eliminate the negativity in order to get back on track:
“The inner thoughts and how you’re talking to yourself is a lot,” Lux said. “I didn’t realize for a couple years there how negative I was on myself. Baseball is hard enough. So when you’re in your own way, it’s like it’s [expletive] impossible.”
After a stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City in which he worked on his swing and increased his versatility, Lux returned to the Dodgers for the stretch run last season and looked like the player he was expected to become.
The 24-year-old now is playing every day in the Majors and has become an important part of the Dodgers’ lineup. In 52 games this season, Lux is batting .291/.372/.382 with seven doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI.
Lux enjoying hot streak
Lux currently is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak and reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances in the Dodgers’ 11-9 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
Lux followed that up by going 1-for-3 with his second home run of the season in L.A.’s loss to the San Francisco Giants in the series opener at Oracle Park, and then had a multi-hit effort on Saturday.
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