- Editor’s Note: “Eloy Jimenez: Lessons On Perseverance During Injuries” originally appeared on Sox on the 35th. Sox On 35th Tim Moran will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports Chicago’s coverage of his White Sox for the 2022 season. You can read more about their coverage at SoxOn35th.com. @SoxOn35th.
Earlier this season, many White Sox fans were disappointed with Eloy Jimenez’s lack of momentum early in the season. The 25-year-old outfielder/DH was injured on April 23 and had just 64 wRC+ (total offense against 100) to his name. star break. All of this, of course, follows Eloy’s 2021 campaign, where he struggled hard at bat in September and October, and after posting a 69 wRC+ in that month, he made a postseason He had only five hits, all singles, in 17 at-bats. All signs seemed to point to Eloy hitting the wall with his plate.
The #74 thundered from the brakes with a power surge and never looked back. He finished his 2022 season with a .298/.361/.505 batting average, with a wRC+ of 146, the latter of which puts him 12th among all MLB hitters (with a minimum of 300 PAs) and the AL all-time leader. He was sixth among hitters. Looking only at the second half, Eloy was his third best hitter in his MLB by his wRC+. While the Sox as a whole didn’t enjoy a similar late comeback, this big bright spot offers something fans should consider moving forward: a player battling multiple injuries in a short period of time. Please be patient.
Let’s examine Eloy’s injury and subsequent playing period calculations. Jimenez broke his sternum at the end of his 2021 spring training and missed just over 100 games with the injury. He then played 55 games to close out 2021, and despite a solid August, was generally out of shape by the end of the year. So after playing half the number of games he lost to injury, he hadn’t fully recovered.
After a very short spring training session in 2022, Eloy had 11 games into the season before suffering a hamstring injury. This makes his sample size too small to judge his performance, especially since the preparation period is shortened. He then came back and played just eight games before the All-Star break.
In summary, the young player suffered his first major injury, played subpar for a few months, started catching colds after a short offseason, then recovered from injury in eight games and was consistent for the first time since before his major injury. It’s a perfectly reasonable path for a young hitter to take. During that period, there was no reason to doubt Eloy’s long-term prospects, especially considering he posted 115 and 138 wRC+ in his first two his seasons, respectively. So why did so many people seem to think Eloy had reached his limit?
Essentially, we fans are blindfolded to the big picture. 70 mediocre games sandwiched between 160 injuries and a rushed offseason are like 100 terrible games for fans struggling to witness three bad games in a row. Yes, Eloy’s low homer, high grounder profile has been awkward for a while. There was no basis for concluding that he was not a hitter.
Read through to the end of this article from soxon35th.com to learn more about what fans of Eloy Jimenez and other White Sox players hope to recover from injury next season.
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