PEORIA, Ariz. - Chances are your mental image of Joey Gallo comes down to this:
Whiff or whack.
Gallo understands the perception, but he’d also like you to know it’s not the 3-D picture.
“There’s an old school thinking,” he said, “that if you hit home runs and strike out, you’re not an athlete, you’re just a big donkey.”
Complain about Gallo’s strikeout rate or his Mendoza-line batting average, and your points are well taken.
But he’s certainly no donkey.
And he might even be a star.
Before you think the desert is getting to me, a distinct possibility, consider the evidence.