Savannah second basemen L.J. Mazzilli is hitting just .255/.335/.360 with three homers and six doubles for the Sand Gnats through 44 games. However, the 23-year old UConn product is hitting .333 with a .444 OBP in his last 10 games.

L.J. is the son of former Met Lee Mazzilli, so baseball is in his DNA. But it appears being the son of a former player can be an advantage in more than one way. According to Mets Minors Blog‘s Toby Hyde, the elder Mazzilli recently visited his friend Yogi Berra in the nursing home in which he resides.

According to Hyde:

Yogi asked about L.J., who Lee reported was going through some “bumps in the road.”

Yogi told Lee to tell his son, “If you see it, hit it. If you don’t see it, don’t hit it.”

Apparently when a Hall of Famer and ten-time World Series champion speaks, you listen.

“That really fired me up,” L.J. told Hyde “I was feeling a little bit down, then he made it seem so simple and non-chalant and I said, ‘All right, sounds good to me.’”

L.J. attributes his struggles to his tendency to “try to do too much”, and becoming anxious as opposed to aggressive in hitters counts. Calming himself down, as well as making some mechanical adjustments have gotten the second basemen back on track.

And as for getting advice from a baseball legend, Mazzilli told Hyde- “It’s amazing”.

To read the rest of Toby Hyde’s article click here.

(Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times)