Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara is one of Major League Baseball’s young budding stars, and he’s looking to improve his skill set with the help of senior leadership on his team.
Mazara is hoping a 20-home run rookie campaign is just the beginning of a 20-year career. First, he needs to avoid a sophomore slump.
If he’s going to do it, he plans to have fun along the way.
“Have a lot of fun. That’s me right there. Just go out there give 200 percent and try to win it all,” Mazara said.
Being more in sync with opposing pitchers is his goal in 2017. After hitting .324 in his first 53 games as a rookie, he only hit .228 the last 82 games.
“He’s probably a little more determined now. I think there’s a certain comfort level that he knows the landscape. He knows the expectations,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.
Mazara said he’ll be making some adjustments to his game to keep from chasing pitches so much.
His goal in the off-season was to get better at everything, and to do so, he’s not shy about turning to teammates for advice.
“Beltre, Andrus, Choo and now Napoli and Gomez are here. They’re good guys to talk to. They’re good guys to look forward to, especially being around the league like 20 years,” Mazara shared about his veteran teammates.
It’s a career Mazara would love to replicate.
