It’s been three years since the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Randy Arozarena from the St. Louis Cardinals in what appears to be one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory.
Since being acquired, Arozarena has become a staple in the Rays lineup and one of the top run producers in the game today.
The 28-year-old is entering his fifth year in Major League Baseball and is ready to continue his dominance.
Arozarena got a chance to chat with MLB Network analysts Carlos Pena and Lauren Shehadi yesterday at Tropicana Field, where he discussed his mindset for the upcoming season.
New season, same mindset for Randy Arozarena 😤#SpringTraining | @LaurenShehadi | @Plakata | @RaysBaseball pic.twitter.com/R2nCELb7YJ
—MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 3, 2023
Arozarena answered in Spanish, with Pena translating.
The slugger says he wants to replicate what he did back in 2020, but that he knows that in order to do that, he needs to continue to work hard every day to perfect his craft.
He was asked about why he is so consistent at the plate, to which he replied that his preparation is ultimately the key to everything, and recalled a time when he fell ill and was unable to play.
The former Rookie of the Year said that after recovering, he was extra motivated to begin training again and put that motivation to some good use before returning to game action.
He also said that he felt that he could have continued to fight through the illness and continue training.
In addition to his Rookie of the Year Award from 2021, Arozarena was the ALCS MVP in 2020 and broke the all-time record for the most home runs in a single postseason.
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