{"id":1003,"date":"2026-06-14T18:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2026-06-14T18:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:44:24","slug":"don-mattingly-who-also-platooned-as-a-young-hitter-believes-rookie-justin-crawford-can-improve-against-lefties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1003","title":{"rendered":"Don Mattingly, who also platooned as a young hitter, believes rookie Justin Crawford can improve against lefties"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>MILWAUKEE \u2014 Justin Crawford has started once against a non-opener lefty since Don Mattingly began managing the Phillies, so let\u2019s not call it anything other than what it is.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1001\">Trump warns Israel and Iran not to \u2018blow it\u2019 after new strikes threaten emerging ceasefire deal<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re pretty much platooning him,\u201d Mattingly said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>That wasn\u2019t the plan when the season opened, except that Crawford, a left-handed hitter, is 4-for-28 (.143) with three walks and no extra-base hits against lefties. And so, the Phillies changed their plan for the 22-year-old rookie center fielder.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But in relegating Crawford from an everyday role, a familiar chicken-or-egg question has resurfaced. What comes first for a young left-handed hitter: Producing against left-handed pitchers or facing them?<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The Phillies went through this with Brandon Marsh after trading for him at the deadline in 2022. Kyle Schwarber dealt with it early in his career with the Cubs. Mattingly even sat against lefties as a rookie with the Yankees in 1983 before becoming Donnie Baseball.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>For them, and other left-handed hitters who eventually solve lefties, it\u2019s a rite of passage. For many others, it becomes a more permanent condition, especially if they don\u2019t eventually get more at-bats against lefties.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>And Mattingly, as much as anyone, is aware of the two edges of that particular sword.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI kind of rely on my own history because when I first came up, I platooned, and it wasn\u2019t a terrible thing for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably would\u2019ve struggled with the lefties. [Crawford]\u2019s a guy that I think is going to hit lefties. But the amount of lefties we see, we don\u2019t see a ton. So, it\u2019s days where he can step back and keep working on his swing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Besides, it\u2019s not like Crawford is exactly teeing off on righties. He went 15-for-44 (.341) with four doubles, one triple, and an .885 OPS in his first 14 games. The league adjusted to him, and Crawford hasn\u2019t adjusted back, going 29-for-150 (.193) with a .528 OPS in his last 50 games.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Crawford was a polarizing prospect due to his extreme tendency to hit ground balls. Sure enough, among 253 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, he has the second-highest ground-ball rate (59.6%).<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been ups and there\u2019s been downs, but we knew that was going to happen with him,\u201d president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. \u201cHe has somewhat of an unusual swing. We knew that all along. Kind of sprays the ball all over the place. He\u2019s working through it. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe started off a little bit quickly, but lately it\u2019s been a little bit more of a struggle. But he keeps working, and we think he\u2019ll work his way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=999\">Across the board: the players powering the Philly chess scene<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Maybe. For now, though, it will have to happen against primarily right-handed starting pitchers.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re on that side of the platoon, you\u2019re getting between 450 and 500 at-bats, so you\u2019re playing regular,\u201d Mattingly said. &#8220;I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something that sets him back. It will set him back a little bit from my standpoint of dealing with lefties. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cBut this is more about him having success, giving him the best chance, and then let him grow into the lefties.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Not out of left field<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Edmundo Sosa remains a work-in-progress left fielder. But making only his seventh start of the season there Saturday night, he made a diving catch \u2014 and replaced a sizable divot \u2014 in the fifth inning.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Edmundo was on that one \ud83d\udc4a pic.twitter.com\/YDKedgAHq5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 14, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d say like, in general, he\u2019s an infielder who we\u2019re kind of getting more and more time out there in left, and he hasn\u2019t hurt us, right?\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cHe\u2019s caught everything he should have caught. He\u2019s made some nice plays. He throws the ball where he\u2019s supposed to throw it. So, he\u2019s been solid for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Sosa started again in left field against another lefty, the Brewers\u2019 Kyle Harrison, in Sunday\u2019s series finale here. In the outfield alignment against lefties, the Phillies prefer moving Marsh to right field and using newly acquired Derek Hill in center.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>(Marsh plays left field, with Crawford in center against righties. Gabriel Rincones Jr., recalled from triple A on Friday, will take over in right field for injured Adolis Garc\u00eda.)<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The Phillies are expected to explore trading for a righty-hitting outfielder before the Aug. 3 deadline, especially after losing Garc\u00eda to a torn lat muscle near his right shoulder. The Phillies are lining up additional medical opinions before Garc\u00eda elects season-ending surgery.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an important one for him and his career,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cSo, everybody wants to get it right and not have to rush into anything right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Extra bases<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Mattingly said the Phillies may consider using a day off Friday to separate Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola in the rotation to avoid taxing the bullpen on back-to-back days. \u2026 The Phillies return home Monday night to face the Marlins. Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.22 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m. against right-hander Ryan Gusto (0-1, 6.00).<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=996\">Urban League of Greater Philadelphia is opening a free clinic in West Philadelphia<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phillies rookie outfielder Justin Crawford has struggled against lefties this season. Plus, Edmundo Sosa is adjusting well to life in the outfield, right when the Phillies might need him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Don Mattingly, who also platooned as a young hitter, believes rookie Justin Crawford can improve against lefties - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don Mattingly, who also platooned as a young hitter, believes rookie Justin Crawford can improve against lefties - Corporate Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Phillies rookie outfielder Justin Crawford has struggled against lefties this season. 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