Now, Rios employs a stance that seems to fit best, which was the culmination of an extended search process beginning with offseason video studies of previous standout years to incorporate into the present.In Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Padres at Camelback Ranch, Rios faced Edinson Volquez with his legs spread shoulder width apart, his hands back and just above mid-chest height and in a slight crouch.
“It’s kind of like in 2010, when my hands were a little lower and I was crouched a little bit,” said Rios, who hit .284 with 21 homers and 88 RBIs to go with 34 stolen bases that season. “So that’s where I’m trying to stay the whole year. That’s how I feel strong and comfortable.
“When you do constant changes like that, you never feel comfortable in one spot. You are always searching, and when you are searching, you don’t focus on your approach. And it’s like a chain reaction. Everything piles up, and when you look back, it’s too much. Just too much to handle.
“I don’t want to go back to the changes,” Rios said. “I know that doesn’t work. I’m going to stick to it this year and be positive. That’s the only thing I can do, stay positive and have a good approach at the plate.”
If things don’t go as planned, the temptation to tweak something is enormous.
