S.I. : Marchman: A tale of two brothers: What’s the difference between the Uptons?

I see Hal Trosky mentioned, which reminds of the two ML broadcasters (don’t ask me who they were as I was repairing my legless Billholden end table) that came across his name yesterday…and didn’t know who he was.

The varying approaches that Tampa Bay and Arizona took with their wildly talented players show in some wildly varying results. More than his inconsistent hitting lines, B.J.‘s struggles are reflected in an inconsistent approach. In 2006, for instance, he swung at 14 percent of pitches outside the strike zone; the next year, it was 19 percent, an increase of more than 35 percent. In his three seasons Justin has ranged from 24 percent to 26 percent. B.J.‘s isolated power—slugging average minus batting average, a measure of pure extra-base hitting—dropped more than 100 points from his first to his second year, increased 150 points in his third year, and has dropped steadily since; Justin’s has increased each year.

Again, this is surely partly a reflection of talent, that slight and indiscernible difference in genetics that some genius some day may be able to isolate under an electron microscope. Blind as we may be to the specific mechanics, there is no mystery here. But if, injuries and early promotion aside, B.J.‘s fundamental problem has been an inability to fix on one aspect of his game and master it, it’s hard not to tie that to the inconsistent way in which he was treated in his formative days as a major leaguer, when no one even seemed quite able to decide what position he should play, let alone what style he should adopt at the plate.