Add The California Post on Google Some of the MLB’s best aren’t worried about one of the game’s current worst.
Three separate baseball legends — Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield and Darryl Strawberry — told the California Post on Thursday they’re sure Kyle Tucker will get out of the funk he’s been in throughout his first season with the Dodgers.
“He’s going to get back,” Sosa said while out at the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation 26th Anniversary Celebrity Dinner. “He’s struggling now, but in the playoffs, he’s going to be better.”
Tucker joined Los Angeles this offseason after logging four straight All-Star appearances with the Astros and Cubs. He signed an eye-watering, four-year, $240 million contract — but through 120 games, he’s been anything but what Dodgers fans had expected.
He’s recorded just 11 home runs, seven stolen bases, 55 RBIs and a .232 batting average. In two recent games, he also dropped two easy fly balls, resulting in some boos from Los Angeles supporters.
However, Strawberry said he believes it’s all just nerves related to joining a new team on a big contract, and he’s certain Tucker will begin shining again soon.
“He’s going to get out of it,” the former Mets and Dodgers star said. “He’s too good of a player. He’s done it before. So if he’s already done it before, you still know how to do it.”
Sheffield, meanwhile, has known Tucker since he was a teenager through their ties to Florida, and he too was positive the Dodgers will see a better version of the 29-year-old right fielder soon.
“I know the kid from back home,” the ex-Dodgers All-Star said. “I’ve known him since high school. He’s going to bounce back. He just needs to get this year out of the way, come through in the playoffs, and all will be OK.”
Tucker, who recently went through an 0-for-26 skid, did show some signs of breaking out during LA’s series in Colorado this week, finishing the last two games against the Rockies with hits in three of his nine at-bats.
He and the Dodgers will take the field again next on Friday night against the Pirates.
