New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long is still bothered by Robinson Cano's lack of hustle when going to first base on routine ground balls.
"If somebody told me I was a dog, I'd have to fix that. When you choose not to, you leave yourself open to taking heat, and that's your fault. For whatever reason, Robbie chose not to," Long told the New York Daily News.
Cano, 31, signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent this offseason.
Long also said he is proud of how hard Cano worked in other areas to overcome deficiencies in his game during his nine seasons with the Yankees.
"As a young kid, there were holes everywhere," he told the newspaper. "There were holes in his swing, in his makeup, in his body composition. This kid grew and grew and grew.
"All the other stuff -- he'd take plays off in the field, he'd give away at-bats in RBI situations -- he made a lot of personal decisions to get over the hump in those areas. People don't know how hard he worked, how many times he was the one asking me to do extra work in the cage."
Via ESPN