Four months after being hit in the face, Willie Calhoun’s jaw is fine. His psyche may take a little while longer to heal.
Calhoun acknowledged Tuesday having had some nervousness about facing left-handed pitching after suffering a fractured jaw in March while trying to stand in against Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Julio Urias’ fastball. It is, in part, why Calhoun, a left-handed hitter, was out of the starting lineup for the third time in the Rangers’ four starts against left-handers this season. Oakland started lefty Jesus Luzardo, who averages 96 mph on his fastball.
Calhoun started the Rangers’ first game against a lefty this season, going 0 for 2 with a strikeout against Colorado’s Kyle Freeland. He’s had only one official at-bat against a lefty since then. Calhoun did drive in the go-ahead run at San Francisco on Sunday with a sacrifice fly off lefty reliever Tyler Anderson.
He has spoken with manager Chris Woodward about his anxiety and is using the app “Calm” as a meditation device to help. He has found it difficult to not bail out on his swing early, particularly against lefties with deliveries that aren’t straight overhand.
“I was just really honest [with Woodward],” Calhoun said. “Right now lefties are a little bit uncomfortable for me. Not all, but some are more uncomfortable. Getting hit in the face, I’ve been a little bit hesitant about feeling that same comfort in the batter’s box when I face a lefty.
“The at-bat against Anderson definitely gave me a lot more confidence, being able to keep my front shoulder in there,” he said. “I don’t know whether it’s because you know like he’s straight over the top, but I felt really good. You win those little battles you start to get momentum.”
Briefly: The Rangers held Tuesday marked two significant anniversaries in Rangers history, both involving Nolan Ryan. It was 27 years ago, in his final season as a player, that he put Robin Ventura in a headlock after the White Sox hitter charged the mound. Seventeen years later, Ryan and Chuck Greenberg were the public faces of the group backed financially by Ray Davis and Bob Simpson that won the Rangers in a bankruptcy auction in 2010. … Noted Ranger-killer Khris Davis was not in the lineup Tuesday. Davis has 31 homers in 312 at-bats against the Rangers since 2016, but is just 3-for-24 this season.
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