Dirk Hayhurst: Russ Has What It Takes

Dirk Hayhurst played on the same team as Russ Canzler last season, and might be Canzler’s Biggest Fan:

Let me speak first of Russ’s character, which I feel will be something severely neglected (as it always is when we start evaluating players in terms of numbers) You will not find a finer individual in the game of baseball today. A total class act who speaks from humility if he speaks at all. I wish I possessed some of the admirable character traits that he does, both on and off the field.

--snip--

And what a bat Russ has, too. He swings an absolute log—one of the heaviest I’ve seen used by hitters in my career. But that is part of his game. What I was so impressed by when watching Russ play is that his swing is really a compact, effortless thing. He never tries to do too much with the ball, no extra moving parts that jerk the bat from its path in the trade off of control for power. He trust his swing and his hands and lets that bat supply the pop. He also has good plate coverage and his swing allows him to drive the ball to all parts of the field.

If Hayhurst is right about Canzler, that means a lot of scouts (and Baseball America) are wrong. And so Hayhurst might have a long future in baseball, even after he finishes his world travels.