FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In the second half of last season, Jackie Bradley Jr. had something of a '"Eureka!'' moment.
Following a handful of seasons in which he would go from torrid to hapless and back again, Bradley made some adjustments to his swing and was able to maintain in for much of the second half of the season and into the postseason.
This past offseason, he twice traveled to California to work with a swing guru to stay on top of his mechanics. And then, Sunday, in his first game action since the World Series, Bradley cranked a homer over the bullpens in right -- more evidence that this swing is here to stay.
"After the first at-bat, it's all downhill from there; can't get any better than that,'' cracked Bradley after the Red Sox came from behind to beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-5. "My main focus is just making sure that I'm being consistent with my drills and trying to form consistent habits -- swing at good pitches for one, but making a big habit out of making sure I don't lose what I've been working on all offseason.''
Bradley's swing is now almost second nature to him now, part of his muscle memory, but he also recognizes that it's easy to lose the proper mechanics and fall back into bad habits.
"The body has a way of trying to go back to something it's been doing for a long, long time,'' he said. "So I have to make sure that I stay consistent, harping on what I'm doing now, so I don't revert back. You go out there and sometimes your main focus is to compete and you're just hoping that the work you put in leading up to the game, sticks.''
"You always wonder,'' said Alex Cora. "like, 'OK, they worked on their swings,' and hopefully there's instant results. That was a great swing - balance, bat through the zone, extension. That's a good sign.''
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