Crosscutter prospect Greene searching for his stroke

In his first couple of weeks with the Williamsport Crosscutters, outfielder Larry Greene felt winded and also uncomfortable. Greene, the Phillies' first-round pick last year, didn't sign with the team until August, so this summer marked his first meaningful game action.

But he wasn't exactly out of form, Crosscutters manager Andy Tracy said. No, Greene played instructional ball in the fall and was coming off extended spring training when he joined Williamsport in mid-June. He just needed time to adjust to his new surroundings.

"I don't think he was rusty," Tracy said. "He was just getting used to playing professional baseball - going on the road, playing under the lights. It's a different life. You have to take care of your housing. You have to figure out what you're going to eat at home. You have to learn to take care of yourself and be an adult."

After settling in and regaining confidence, Greene's swing has come through. He started 9 for 39 (.231) in the first two weeks of the season, but he is batting .303 in July. Now, the next step is to hone his power, the strength that ripples through his 6-foot, 235-pound body, the body of a former high school outside linebacker who said he held scholarship offers from football coaches of Alabama, Auburn, and Florida State.

More than anything else, that power potential drove the Phillies to select Greene, 19, of Nashville, Ga., in the sandwich round last summer.

Joe Jordan, director of player development, has said Greene could develop into a dangerous hitter.

But thus far, through 29 games? Just one home run.

Greene said he's not worried. He learned to be patient as a child when he played at night with his father, Larry Sr.

"I'm not trying to hit home runs," he said. "I'm just trying to put good swings on the ball. I'm trying to hit line drives."

At the beginning of the season, Greene struggled against movement pitches. Too often, he chased curveballs dipping to the dirt. After a couple of weeks, though, he learned to focus on pitchers' arm slots and pay attention to the ball in its earliest moments out of the hand, when its spin will tell you its destination. After June, his strikeout rate decreased by about half.

Also, he's been working on his defense. Greene wasn't known for his play in the outfield. But through repetitions, Tracy said, he's learning to read the ball off the bat better. He doesn't have any fundamental issues that need to be corrected. He just needs more time. Improvement will come naturally.

But still, the power. Just one home run?

Tracy said Greene has the potential to be powerful, but he isn't there yet. He needs to trust his natural swing more. Too often, he tries to "muscle up" the ball instead of just using his hands on the swing, letting minimal effort do maximum work.

Also, Tracy said, Greene plays in a spacious field at Williamsport. From home plate to the outfield wall, the field stretches about 345 feet in the corners, 390 feet in the gaps and 410 feet in center. In all of those parts of the stadium, driving the ball past the fence demands a stronger hit than it does at Citizens Bank Park.

With time, Tracy said, Greene will start belting the ball out more frequently. Greene said he believes that, too. The coaches haven't altered any part of his game. They say he just needs to learn how to be a professional ballplayer and his own weaknesses and strengths, even though the latter is so obvious. Just look at the former linebacker's frame.

Greene said he chose baseball over football because his late mother, Denise, told him to follow his passion. He grew up watching Braves games, wearing Chipper Jones' No. 10 and hiking his socks up high. She preferred baseball to football.

"She didn't like all the contact," he said. "You know how mamas are."

As for Greene, he enjoyed hitting people on the football field. And now he misses the contact "just a little bit."

That thirst could be satisfied on the baseball diamond, just with a bat and ball instead of helmets and pads. As of now, though, the need for contact remains unquestioned, for Greene, for the Phillies, and for fans. But soon enough, the big hits will come, Green said. He has faith.

Still, just one home run?

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