Astros.com has a feature on Mark Ori who is on the Taxi Squad during the Arizona Fall League. Here is what he says he learned during his repeat year in Salem.
“I was not the happiest guy coming out of Spring Training,” said Ori…. “I thought I had a chance to be in Double-A….I got 500 at-bats and the guys at Double-A had to split time. It worked out. I learned a lot from the hitting coach [Keith Bodie] and the manager [Jim Pankovits]. For my career, it was the best thing that could have happened. It was harder at the time to not see it as a bad thing because you see it as a standstill in your career going back to the same place. But after a couple of days and once games started, I didn’t even give it a thought.”
So what did they work on?
Bodie changed up Ori’s stance just a bit, having him standa bit more upright. The change allowed him to see the ball better.
We also learned that his older brother, Joseph, plays minor league hockey in the East Coast Hockey League for the Elmira Jackels. He just joined the Jackels this season after playing for two years with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the CHL.