When Mauro Gomez was done hitting in the cage during batting practice on both Friday and Saturday at Tokyo Dome, where the Hanshin Tigers were taking on the rival Yomiuri Giants in a weekend series, instead of heading back to the clubhouse, he went behind the cage for a little more soft toss.
With Tom O'Malley, a former Tigers star himself and currently one of the team's hitting coaches, tossing balls to him, Gomez got in a few more cuts before leaving the field. He later explained that he "likes to take some extra swings, work on my timing," when not fully satisfied with a batting practice session.
Gomez is in his second season with the Tigers and coming off a solid year. He was late in arriving last year — to spring training, he was present by opening day — but didn't take long to get settled, and quickly established himself as one of the better power hitters in the Central League. Now he's putting in the work to build upon that in hopes of putting together another strong campaign.