Cardinals infielder Aledmys Diaz came from Cuba with a fair bit of hype, though he didn’t live up to it in 2014. The next season was a little better as the 25-year-old Diaz hit fairly well between AA and AAA.
Still, I can’t say I heard anyone saying he could hit the cover off the ball.
Not just the expression, that is. I mean, he literally hit the cover off the ball yesterday:
Ah ha, but, as you can see, he didn’t actually crush the ball. It must have just been the perfect timing and spin of the pitch with the location of the squib job he put on it with his swing. When you hear “hit the cover off the ball,” you don’t exactly think of a dribbling foul ball.
It’s still fun to see in action.