PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Bachata is a popular dance and music genre in the Dominican Republic, highlighted by a four-step rhythm and side-to-side pattern.
And new Marlin Christopher Morel compares it to learning first base.
“It's more the feet when you go to cover first base, trying to put your feet correctly,” Morel said. “But we’re getting better. Today, we got a few ground balls, and I’m trying to dance bachata today. We need to dance bachata to be a first baseman."
Morel, whom the Marlins signed to a Major League deal over the offseason, had never played first base in a game during his professional career until Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 Grapefruit League-opening win over the Mets at Clover Park.
The early returns were promising.
The 26-year-old began a 3-1 putout by reaching over his head and ranging into foul territory for a grounder, then turning around to fire a throw to left-hander Robby Snelling to end the first. He recorded the first out in three consecutive frames from the third through the fifth, including picking a short hop and flipping to righty Tyler Phillips. He nearly saved third baseman Connor Norby from an error by snagging an errant throw and just missing the tag of the runner.
“Probably in a lot of ways, couldn't have gone any better for Christopher,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Not only making the plays, but some of them were not just your garden variety. And even the first one, the high chopper that takes him kind of going into foul territory, [he] gets himself under control and makes a nice feed. He attacked some other ones very well and gave himself some good hops to play with.
“He's looked great on the backfields, and certainly knew that he was going to prepare himself as best he could coming into camp for this. I'm glad he got a lot of chances. I hope he just continues to get more of those in Spring Training that just will continue to aid his comfortability over there.”
Once the Marlins pitched the idea of Morel playing first base, he got to work by practicing there five times a week beginning in December. After appearing at second, third, short and all three outfield spots in his four-year big league career, he accepted the challenge of adding another position to his resume.
“That helped me a lot, when they told me, ‘Hey, you play too many positions, why [not] try first base?’” Morel recalled. “I said, ‘Why not?’ It's a new challenge in myself, and [I’ll] just keep working hard.”
The Marlins began Grapefruit League play with Morel as their primary first baseman, followed by Griffin Conine, Graham Pauley, Liam Hicks and even Connor Norby.
Conine started in right field on Saturday, but if he continues to progress at first base, he will see action there soon enough. Hicks, one of three 40-man roster catchers at camp, will appear at first before leaving for the World Baseball Classic. Both Pauley and Norby have seen reps on the backfields after their primary third-base position.
“You're in every play,” infield coach Blake Butler said. “Other than the catcher and the pitcher, you're probably touching the ball the most. You're in every play, and it's not necessarily high difficulty, but it's important. You're talking about picks and learning the nuances. I think teams are asking more out of their first basemen now as first basemen get more athletic. These two guys [Morel and Conine] we're talking about, are both really athletic. We're not going to be afraid to ask them to be athletic, and push them to be athletic. If they're able to reach their potential over there, it should be an advantage for us.”