Hawaii first baseman Eric Ramirez’s baseball season is on the upswing largely because of a new upper-cut swing.
Since changing his bat (from 34 inches in length to 33) and adapting a wider stance three weeks ago, Ramirez is hitting .310 with a home run every 7.3 at bats.
“I’m getting under the ball a little more,” Ramirez said of his recent power surge.
Ramirez hit two home runs in his first two UH seasons and one in the first 31 games this season. But after going 0-for-4 with two groundouts in the opener against UC Riverside three weeks ago, the coaches suggested Ramirez widen his stance and adjust his swing’s trajectory.
“In making the small adjustment, I’m hitting under the ball more and not hitting so many groundouts,” Ramirez said.
In his first 24 games, Ramirez hit grounders on 44.4 percent of the balls he put in play. In the past eight games, he has hit six grounders in 24 balls in play (25 percent). He also has smashed four home runs in 29 at-bats during that span.
Ramirez makes use of plate discipline — he has drawn 25 walks and made contact on 20 two-strike pitches — and diligent training. On game days, when the report time is, say, 3:45 p.m., Ramirez will arrive at 2 p.m. to stretch and then take swings in the batting cage. He will focus on his hand placements, as well as driving to opposite fields. Some teams have employed overshifts to defend against the left-hitting Ramirez.
“I don’t know why they put it on,” Ramirez said. “I try to hit the ball as hard as I can. If it’s outside, I’ll try to slap it the other way. For the most part, I try to stay up the middle.”
The past weekend against Cal State Northridge, in 14 at-bats, he hit five to the left side or middle; two he pulled over the wall in right.
Ramirez’s baseball skills were apparent at an early age in Oxnard, Calif. His family often likes to play a video in which he is on the floor holding an empty two-liter plastic bottle.
“I couldn’t even stand yet,” he said. “I would be sitting on my butt, with the bottle in my hand, and they would throw me a little Chuck E. Cheese ball. I would hit it with one hand. Building up the hand-eye coordination as a little kid, huh?”
His two older brothers, Luis and Alex, passed down the love of baseball. “It’s just our family sport,” Ramirez said. “We didn’t play any other sport.”
When his parents bought him a new bat, Ramirez recalled, “I would sleep with it for a few days. I would always have it around the house. I would always carry the bat or the glove. Whenever I got bored, I would go outside and throw myself pop flies in the backyard.”
He said Alex used to sign him up for Little League, tournaments and showcases. “I think he was better than me, but he got hurt,” Ramirez said. “He didn’t get a chance to play at the college level. He’s the one I try to play like, be like, and look up to.”
Ramirez, who is one of the ‘Bows best defensive players, said he honed his skills in the family’s backyard.
“My older brother would hit me ground balls,” Ramirez said. “It was the repetition of it. When I played high school and Little League, we’d play on fields that had gopher holes. The hops were never true. You always had to stay on your toes. You always had to expect the worst. Coming here and playing on (artificial) turf makes it a lot easier. I love playing here.”
