CLEVELAND — It is no secret that Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis had his struggles at the plate in the first half of the 2019 season, but recently, he has been trending in an upward direction and the source of the change could be an unlikely one.
In early May, Kipnis was pulled over in 2005 Bentley Coupe by a Cleveland police officer for “excessive speeding.” According to the body cam footage, after Kipnis said, “Late to the field…didn’t pay attention,” the Cleveland police officer had a succinct recommendation for the veteran infielder.
“Maybe you should try batting .100 instead of driving 100,” the officer told Kipnis. “Take it easy.”
Although feeling the sting from the words, Kipnis shared the moment on his Instagram page shortly after the traffic stop.
“Bruh…he went straight for the heart!” Kipnis captioned the series of videos. “Too funny not to post…always helps to have a sense of humor about things so (stuff) like this doesn’t get to you, but damn. I’m trying!!!”
After a sad face emoji, Kipnis tweeted several hashtags: “#wouldratherhavetheticket, #kickamanwhilehesdown, #hegotme and #getinthecagesyaya.”
All kidding aside, the suggestion just might have worked.
Kipnis was hitting .172 at the time of the traffic stop on May 6, but has been far more successful over the last seven weeks.
During the month of May, Kipnis recorded 26 hits in 107 at-bats (.243 batting average) over 27 games, including 11 for extra bases. In addition to the nine doubles and two home runs, Kipnis scored nine runs, drove in nine RBI and drew nine walks.
In 21 June games, Kipnis is hitting .276 (21 of 76) with 11 runs scored, one double, one triple and four home runs. Also, Kipnis has driven in 18 runs with six walks against 12 strikeouts. Kipnis has a split of .318/.474/.791 on-base, slugging and on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
Because of the recent surge, Kipnis’ batting average has jumped to .246 on the season. He has scored 22 runs, driven in 30 and clubbed six home runs on the season.
On the last homestand before the break for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field, Kipnis had a memorable moment when he sent home happy rain-soaked fans in the bottom of the 10th inning.
With the score between the Indians and Kansas City Royals tied at 2-2, Kipnis swung at a 1-0 pitch over the middle of the plate and blasted it deep into the seats in right field for the game-winning walk-off home run.