It’s been a forgettable season for Keston Hiura.
In March, the biggest question surrounding Hiura was how he’d adapt to playing first base at the major league level. No one questioned his ability at the plate.
Fast forward to the present time and Hiura – with just three games left in the regular season – has more at bats at triple-A than he does with the Brewers.
From hitting .303 as a 22-year-old rookie in 2019, to hitting .166 in 2021.
What happened?
In February of this year, Hiura’s Mother was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. You may have heard about it during spring training, but did you ever associate the diagnosis with Hiura’s performance when he struggled in April?
Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult things to do in all of sports. In what other profession is a 30% success rate considered all-star worthy?
Now imagine stepping into the batter’s box against the nastiest pitchers on the planet without a clear head.
On Thursday, Hiura was recalled from triple-A and inserted into Craig Counsell’s starting line-up against the Cardinals. Hiura delivered an RBI single and just missed a home run.
Earlier in the day, Hiura reported his Mother is in remission.
