KC Royals’ Michael Massey faced familiar foe in Arizona pitcher Tommy Henry
Royals second baseman Michael Massey couldn’t help but smirk when asked about Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry ahead of Monday’s series opener, an eventual 5-4 Royals loss.
Henry made his first start of 2023 in the opener, but Massey was already quite familiar with his game — dating back to their college days. After all, the two were Big Ten conference rivals. Massey played for Illinois, while Henry played for Michigan.
“We matched up a couple of times. He’s super good,” Massey said. “Tough arm.”
Massey believes the matchup nowadays might be a little different. He went 2 for 4 Monday and scored as the tying run in the eighth inning.
“When I look at myself, I am a completely different hitter than I was in 2019,” Massey said. “So, I think he’s different than he was as a 21-year-old at Michigan.”
Henry made his MLB debut last season with the Diamondbacks, finishing with a 3-4 record and a 5.36 ERA in 47 innings pitched. Henry was brought up from Triple-A Reno on Monday to fill in the vacant rotation spot left behind by pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who was designated for assignment.
That led to a change in preparation for the Royals, facing a pitcher without a lot of (or any, beyond Massey) familiarity.
“Any time you don’t know somebody and you have to do most of your work or all of your work off video, that changes whether you’ve seen them live or not,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro pregame. “I don’t know how many of our guys have seen him through the minor leagues, but it does make it a little more challenging.”
That also changed Massey’s approach.
“I think you’re going to have to pay a little more attention to the dugout and see how he’s throwing (to) make the in-game adjustments,” Massey said before the game. “Obviously, with a guy you don’t have a lot of information on, you’re probably going to use your eyes a little more.”
Overall, it’s been a tough season for the Royals, who dropped to 5-18 with Monday’s loss. And Massey has struggled at the plate. He raised his average to .167 with his two-hit performance Monday.
In a transition season that’s supposed to be filled with development for younger players, it’s easy for Massey to get caught up in his and the team’s struggles.
But he’s got a plan to combat that — focusing his energy on internal factors instead of the external.
“I use the game for feedback,” Massey said. “This is what I’m struggling with — let me go in the cage and work on X. … I read the report on Tommy Henry tonight. I have an idea of where I want to get up at.
“I have an idea of what pitches I want to look for. It’s just really going in the cage and then executing that. You kind of start to see that visual. Then you go in the game and see what happens. Just use the game as a learning tool to keep growing.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2023 at 8:37 PM.
