“One of the things I found most fascinating about him last year was, even through the times of his struggles, he still worked an incredible at-bat,” Kapler said in December. “It wasn’t like rolling over to the second baseman on the first pitch when he was struggling, although that happened from time to time. But when he struggled, he still worked the pitcher; he still made the opposition uncomfortable. And sometimes he’d end that at-bat with a walk, which I think there’s a lot of value in that.”