The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup has been in a collective slump since the beginning of August, so the team has been trying to find ways to jump-start the offense.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts switched the order of the lineup by moving Mookie Betts back to the leadoff spot, but the spark they needed might have come from another change.
A few players have begun using Albert Pujols’ bat and the results have been good so far, with the offense scoring 26 total runs over their last four games.
Justin Turner was one of the first players to make the switch and he is 7-for-his-last-16 with two home runs since Sept. 12, when he first referenced using Pujols’ bat.
“I have no idea and I don’t care to know,” Turner said when asked what makes Pujols’ bat special. “I’m just going to keep using it because it feels good.”
Muncy began using the bat on Sept. 14 and promptly hit a home run and doubled. He also followed with a home run the next day.
It also looks like Bellinger has begun to use the bat in an effort to get out of his season-long slump.
Pujols’ bat just a coincidence?
While it might seem like a coincidence that the players are finding success with Pujols’ bats, there is some logic to why some of the Dodgers are performing better.
Bats are made to the specifications of how a player likes them, which changes the length and weight of them, so they all feel different to swing. Because of this, players oftentimes borrow other bats to try to mix it up when they are in a slump.
“I don’t know the answer, but I do think there is a little magic in Albert and kind of that mojo,” Roberts said.
“It’s a balanced bat. A lot of guys have a top-heavy bat, but his bat is much more balanced and there’s a little bit more barrel there.”
But as the bats have hit 679 homers for Pujols, maybe there’s just something else different about them.
“I’ll just defer to the Albert Pujols mojo,” Roberts said.
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