Bat Fixation Pays Off For Dickerson

Before Corey Dickerson became a fantasy stalwart and a budding all star with the Rays, he was recognizable for the company he kept. Upon arrival at the ballpark, the left fielder rarely went anywhere without a bat in his hand.

- Jerry Crasnick

When Dickerson wasn’t spraying line drives in the cage, he was roaming the Rockies’ clubhouse with a Tucci model TL-271 in his grip. Or sitting at his locker, holding the barrel with two fingers and lightly pinging it at the top to locate the sweet spot. Or cleaning it with alcohol or tape remover to detect precisely where he had made contact the previous game. Or weighing it. Or taping the handle depending on how sore his hands were on a given day.

Amid the daily maintenance, Dickerson was perpetually on the lookout for good wood. Since his days in youth ball, he had developed a Tony Gwynn-like obsession with bats and an appreciation for the damage he could inflict with the right model in his hands. Bats didn’t arrive en masse from the manufacturer when he played in the minor leagues, so they were a precious commodity to be alternately hoarded or mooched.