Chattanooga Lookouts right fielder Kyle Russell batted in four runs in the season’s first series but struck out six times.Imagine waking up each morning assured of striking out on the job.
Kyle Russell lives with such a predicament and doesn’t seem to mind. The Chattanooga Lookouts right fielder has averaged more than one strikeout a game since his days at the University of Texas, but he is productive when he connects and is among the top power prospects in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
“The more you accept it, the better you’re going to be,” Russell said. “Do I try to strike out? No. Not at all. It just comes with the territory, and I’m OK with it. I try to get the ball in play with two strikes, but it doesn’t work out as much as I want it to.”
The 24-year-old left-handed hitter hit Chattanooga’s first home run this season, a two-run shot to right field in Saturday’s 12-4 victory over Tennessee, but he also struck out six times in the first five-game series, or 1.2 per game. Russell struck out 113 times in 76 games with the Lookouts last season, an average of 1.5 a game.
Russell said he doesn’t keep up with his strikeouts, and Lookouts hitting coach Franklin Stubbs doesn’t plan to harp on them.