With an old-school tactic that aligns with his approach, J.T. Realmuto is turning back the clock on hitting

Realmuto dropped his bat and immediately hunched over after Marlins reliever Ronny Henriquez threw a slider that didn’t slide. But luckily for Realmuto, the ball made contact with only the black knob on the bottom of his Old Hickory maple, resulting in a foul ball. Holding the bat the way he does aligns with his approach. “I’ve never been a power-first hitter,” Realmuto said. If Realmuto does provide a spark with his bat in October, just know that he’ll be using that same old-school grip while he’s swinging it.