Hey there,
When he woke up in Miami on May 2, 2023, Marcell Ozuna was batting .085. He was 59 at-bats into his season.
To that point, he was the worst hitter in baseball.
So, as he found himself in a large hole, he employed a certain mindset going forward.
“OK, so take it one (at-bat) at a time,” Ozuna said then. “The season starts right now. Be ready to swing. If you fail, you fail. Be a grown man and stand up and do your best and move forward.”
And since May 2 of last season, Ozuna has been one of baseball’s best hitters. This has been an unbelievable turnaround.
“Oh my gosh, I just got goosebumps thinking about it,” hitting coach Kevin Seitzer told me. “That’s why we do what we do, just to be able to help guys get out of bad spots. It’s like, even when we’re winning games and doing really good, there’s still two or three guys that keep you awake at night, that you want to try and get them going. It’s like, ‘Yeah, okay, good (that) we won, I’m glad we won, that’s the most important part.’ But getting the guys going that are scuffling – with Ozuna last year, having him turn it around, and then I’m so happy this year (that) he picked up where he left off last year.”
Consider this context:
Since 1961, only nine players have hit .085 over their first 18 games of a season when they’ve taken at least 59 at-bats. Ozuna was one of them. (Two of them are from this year: Houston’s Jose Abreu and St. Louis’ Victor Scott II.)
But none of them came close to what Ozuna accomplished: In the same season as his brutal start, he hit 40 home runs and drove in 100 runs. He hit .274 with a .905 OPS.
By those measures, his upswing was historic. And it has not stopped.
And now, this:
Since May 2 of last season, Ozuna ranks third in baseball with 38 home runs – behind only teammate Matt Olson (46) and Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber (40). His 98 RBIs in that span are second only to Olson’s 114.
Ozuna enters the series against the Dodgers with a majors-best 32 RBIs. His nine home runs are one off the MLB lead.
Ozuna’s story can be an example to other major leaguers. The lesson: One stretch doesn’t define a career. Anyone can return to greatness.
“And he had a lot of noise outside the workplace, too, that he had to deal with,” Braves manager Brian Snitker recently said. “I admire him so much for how he handled this whole thing, how he came to work every day with a smile on his face and worked hard every day. When the game was over, he was the first one out of the dugout in the (handshake) line. I think his teammates respect that and admire him for what he did go through and how he handled it.”
Multiple times, Ozuna has referenced how staying out of trouble has helped him return to form.
In 2021, Ozuna was arrested on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery – felony charges that were eventually dropped.
In 2022, he was arrested for DUI and eventually pleaded no contest. He paid a $1,000 fine. The DUI charge was dropped.
Over this last year, Ozuna has been able to solely focus on baseball.
“It’s been nice,” he told me. “When you stay out of trouble, you’re coming ready to play the game, and then go home and chill.”
Ozuna now has a “clear mind,” he said. He learned from his mistakes. He’s happy to now only be concerned with baseball.
“If you’re going healthy and then you’re going ready for the next day, you’re going to be good,” he said. “You’re going to feel energy, you’re going to feel strong, you’re going to feel everything. That’s what I’m doing right now, I’m just going to the field and doing my best.”
As Snitker said earlier in this story, Ozuna’s teammates and coaches respected how he handled his struggles. Not only did he work hard, but he continued to be a good teammate.
“It’s a huge testimony as to who he is as a person,” Seitzer said. “The dude just wants to win, that’s the bottom line. They all want to do good, but they all, most importantly, want to win ballgames. And they know when we win (and) they’re struggling, they’re happy we won but they need to fix what’s going on with themselves so they can contribute. He’s that guy. I mean, he’s just a great teammate, a great worker, the whole thing.”
Added Ozuna: “Every time, I never give up. I just come in every day working and giving my best. I never gave up.”
Ozuna said the people around him, namely his coaches, told him not to worry. They urged him to be ready and do his best. “All of my guys know who I am, and they know what I can do in baseball,” he said. And over the last year, he’s proven this: He’s not done yet. He might still be in his prime.
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