What's the saying? April showers bring May flowers?
The flowers are blooming and the bats are ringing for Luis Robert Jr. in May.
And in the past four games, Robert Jr. has rounded the bases and walked to the dugout to be donned with the notorious White Sox gangster jacket and top hat. We all know what that means.
Before the May flowers grew colorfully and festooned a string of Robert's at-bats, there were April showers. A lot of them, too. In fact, in 99 at-bats in April, Robert Jr. recorded 20 hits for a .202 batting average. He struck out 28 times and walked just four times in 105 plate appearances.
He went through one of the worst hitting slumps of his career. Mixed in with that, he was benched during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays for jogging to first base on a groundball he could've beat. He wasn't in the lineup the subsequent game either.
But all of that changed in May. What's the secret to his recent success?
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He's somewhat adapted to the new hitting coaching staff's method of incorporating technology, specifically the iPitch machine, into the practice routine. But Robert is instinctually hesitant to delve into the numbers too far.
"There is too much information that I don’t like to look at," Robert Jr. told James Fegan of The Athletic. "To me, the simpler the better. Once you are at home plate, you can’t be thinking of all that stuff. You have to be thinking of the pitcher, what pitch and the speed of the pitch that he has, nothing more than that."
Whatever he's doing, it's working. In the 14 games the Sox have played so far in May, Robert Jr. is hitting .408 from the plate with 20 hits, seven home runs, 15 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He has just as many walks as he had in the previous 26 games and just 10 strikeouts in 46 at-bats.
Let's not forget. Robert is arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game right now. He holds defensive runs saved (DFRS) value of 7, well above the rest of the competition. At this rate, he could be in the mix for a Gold Glove in the outfield, which would be the second of his career.
But right now, the rest of the White Sox are riding off Robert Jr.'s energy, taking it in as they watch from the dugout. If Robert Jr. homers on Wednesday, he will tie A.J. Pierzynski's franchise record for the longest streak with a home run.
"It's incredible," Gavin Sheets told the media after Tuesday's win over the Cleveland Guardians. "I've been hitting behind him most the games and what he's been doing, he's been locked in. It's been a lot of fun to watch. It doesn't surprise me one bit with the talent he's got but whenever a guy like him gets hot it's a lot of fun to watch."