Mariners’ Guillermo Heredia keeps working hard

By Yusseff Díaz

The first time the baseball world heard of Guillermo Heredia was in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in the opening game for Cuba versus Brazil.

Cuban fans had been aware of Heredia’s immense talent for years. In his six years in the Cuban National Series with the Matanzas Crocodiles he hit .325 with 23 home runs and 121 runs batted in.

But in the 2013 WBC he put the world on notice that he possessed Major League caliber tools.

That night “The Count” (as he is known by the island’s faithful) made an amazing catch to rescue starter Ismel Jiménez from a jam. Heredia also drove in a run to help spur Cuba to victory.

“I remember that catch like it was yesterday,” he said. “I would love to one day dawn the jersey with the four letters again.”

Heredia signed with the Seattle Mariners as a 25-year-old in 2016 and made it all the way to the majors that same year. He appeared in 45 games, hitting one home run with 12 RBI and a .250 batting average in his first exposure to big league pitching.

Improving on his craft

Heredia got the attention of scouts and major league clubs with his defensive prowess, but he needed to work on his offensive game to stick around the big leagues.

In 2017, Heredia struggled at the plate before injuries cost him a starting spot in the Seattle outfield to Ben Gamel. Heredia his .249 with 24 RBI 123 games.

Knowing that his bat needed to improve, Heredia went to Miami to work with reknown hitting guru Ricardo Sosa. He was also rehabbing a surgically-repaired shoulder, and needed to get healthy while improving his swing.

“Ricardo Sosa worked with me in the off-season on fine tuning my swing,” Heredia said. “He also worked on my mechanics and helped close all the holes in my swing. My goal for the [2018] season was to have a great season at the plate and in the field, and also to help the team win in any way possible.”

The work continues

All of the hard work didn’t pay immediate dividends for Heredia, who had a tough spring camp and found himself in the minors to open the 2018 season. He was recalled in late-April, however, and he started to hit better.

Unfortunately, injuries led to slumps again and Heredia finished 2018 with similar numbers to his disappointing 2017 campaign.

However, a strong September gave him confidence that the hard work was starting to pay off. Heredia hit .411 with one home run and five runs driven in in September.

Heredia still keeps up with the Cuban National Series and his beloved Crocodiles. Like many of his fellow countrymen Heredia dreams of one day returning to his homeland and playing in the league that saw him come up.

“I still follow the series and am up to date on my Crocodiles, it would be an honor to one day wear the yellow and red again, because that’s from where I came.”

Featured Image: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images Sport