Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is working on hitting to the opposite field, and thus far the results have been positive.
Entering Tuesday's spring game against the Braves, Howard has put the ball in play 13 times this spring. Nine times he hit to left or center field, per MLB.com. Only four times -- 30.8 percent -- has he pulled the baseball. Last year, according to Baseball-Reference.com, he pulled the baseball 40.3 percent of the time.
"I've never been a pull hitter. But my biggest problem was trying to pull the ball. Now I'm trying to work back to what my strength is," Howard said. "I'm trying to work the middle of the field. That's the goal. It's all about timing. It's all about rhythm."
It seems getting back to what Howard did best in the past could help him revive his career.
"He's much better when he uses the whole field," a longtime NL scout said. "When he came up, he was very good at going the other way. And it's really what made him into a top-flight player. Then he got very pull-happy. First, it makes him much easier to defend. And, secondly, it's affected his mindset. So he's getting back to his roots, basically. When he first came up, that's what he did a lot. He's getting back to that, which is good for him, and obviously good for the team."