Giants young players show willingness to learn from veterans

The San Francisco Giants have been releasing a number of “Mic’d Up” videos from spring training practice through their YouTube channel.

Two of the San Francisco Giants “Mic’d Up” videos in particular have stood out to me.

One is of Mauricio Dubon and another is of Mike Yastrzemski, two of the younger and more exciting players on the team.

The reason these two videos stood out to me is because Dubon and Yaz were both very willing to ask the veteran players questions and pick their brains about the game of baseball.

I would not have expected anything less from them, but it is still refreshing to see young athletes who are humble enough to try to learn from guys who have a decade or more of experience in the big leagues.

In the Dubon video, he asks Evan Longoria about why he backhands certain ground balls even when they’re slow enough to get in front of:

It’s a tiny detail that many wouldn’t pick up on, but Dubon is paying enough attention to realize that he must be doing it for a reason.

Longoria explains that it makes the transfer from his glove to his throwing hand a little bit quicker, which is extra important at the hot corner when trying to throw out a speedy runner across the diamond. With Dubon likely to play all over the place in 2020, that small tip could end up saving a run for the team.

Later on in the video, Billy Hamilton gives him tips on getting a good leadoff from first base. He advises Dubon that he shouldn’t even be thinking about trying to dive back to first, instead just getting enough of a lead to where he knows he can get back in time. He says his focus should be on trying to get to second base. Not bad to pick the brain of one of the best base stealers in recent memory.

In the Yaz video, he is picking Hunter Pence‘s brain throughout the practice on everything from fly balls to his swing path:

Pence embracing the role of mentor makes it clear that he would be a great coach after his playing days are over. Yaz is super receptive to all of Pence’s tips, coming in with no ego even after his breakout 2019 season.

There is also a humorous bit where Pablo Sandoval struggles to pronounce Yaz’s last name, so instead he dubs him “Glass of Whiskey.”

There are lots of these videos and they are worth your time if you find yourself missing baseball in the weeks to come.

My biggest takeaway was that the young Giants players are not afraid to approach the veterans for advice. That is refreshing to see and bodes well for their future in the big leagues.