Moon shots and mob movies: Jhonkensy Noel's bid to be Guardians' next big home run hitter

New York Times

31-03-2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On an overcast March morning, Jhonkensy Noel stood beside the batting cage near home plate on a back field. He stuck a white donut atop his bat, a powerful, merlot-colored stick with lilac-shaded tape wrapped around the handle.
As he waited for Steven Kwan to wrap up his session, Noel bobbed his head, bounced his knees and mouthed some lyrics as 'Dance Monkey' by Tones and I blared from a speaker the size of a middle schooler.
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Noel then stepped up to the plate and obliterated some baseballs. He sprayed line drives to the outfield and, with his final swing, punished a baseball that sailed just to the right of the forest-green batter's eye in center. He swapped places with Kwan again and returned to bobbing his head to the rapid bass of Sean Paul's 'Temperature.'
Every day of Noel's life is the best day of his life.
'I've seen him mad, like, once,' Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said, 'and it's scary, so I'm glad he's a jolly person. He's always in a good mood. He loves baseball. He loves working. He loves playing.'
His smile illuminates the clubhouse. This spring, he'd take his hacks and then head home to watch a crime-filled thriller movie. One day, 'A Bronx Tale.' The next, 'Casino.' 'Red Dawn' awaits.
Noel controls his own destiny this year. The slugger, conservatively listed at 6 foot 3, 250 pounds, isn't sneaking up on anyone, not after the way he delivered for Cleveland's lineup last summer and in the most pivotal moment of the season in October.
He's on everyone's radar: Guardians evaluators, opposing pitchers, the fans sitting in the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field, waiting for one of his moon shots to carom off the scoreboard and into their souvenir helmet full of chocolate soft-serve. He's a home run threat in any venue. During the Guardians' season-opening series in Kansas City, Noel dismissed the notion that Kauffman Stadium's spacious outfield makes life tough on those built like him.
'They say it's too big,' Noel said, 'but when you have power, nothing is too big for you.'
If he hits, Noel, initially slated to share right field with Nolan Jones, should have no trouble earning more at-bats. Noel ranked among league leaders in bat speed and barrel rate last season.
'We know Jhonkensy could probably hit 50 homers,' teammate David Fry said.
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The question, of course, is whether he'll make enough contact to stay in the lineup, whether he can resist pitches off the plate thrown only to tempt him. He ranked near the bottom of the league leaderboard in chase and whiff rates.
'They say if you love something, you have to work for it,' Noel said.
So, that's what he's done, though it'll take some time to learn if he can be a more patient hitter. No one's expecting the 23-year-old to revamp his profile. He's a giant made to mash mistakes, though he noted, 'You're not always going to hit the ball 110 (mph) all the time,' so he needs a flexible approach. And that's why, he said, 'people don't know, but I love bloopers.'
If he can demonstrate more selectiveness, it'll make him even more imposing.
'He's on a mission,' Vogt said. 'I'm excited to see the year he's going to put together.'
Brayan Rocchio has a photo on his phone of him and Noel in the dugout at the club's complex in the Dominican Republic. Both were 16 years old, a couple of skinny kids who had no idea the challenges that a journey to the big leagues would present.
The two bonded over the photo at a recent team gathering. They laughed about the youth in those kids' faces and marveled that they reached the majors together and both enjoyed postseason success as rookies.
'We both have a lot of confidence now,' Rocchio said, 'because the team knows what we can do in those moments.'
Noel doesn't tire from watching the replay of his ninth-inning blast against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS. He loves hearing about it from fans, especially the ones who recount how they left the game early only to hustle back to the turnstiles when he sent Luke Weaver's changeup spinning toward Lake Erie.
JHONKENSY NOEL TIES IT WITH A PINCH HIT HOME RUN! BIG CHRISTMAS!!!! pic.twitter.com/lNI52HYw0Y
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 18, 2024
Rocchio commended Noel for staying prepared on the bench, for making himself ready to meet the moment at the most critical juncture of the game — and the season.
Noel contends he doesn't typically crave the spotlight but has been humbled by how often he hears from strangers — at the airport, the supermarket, even walking around downtown Cleveland, where, thanks to his size and smile, he sticks out like a January heat wave.
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He wears it as a badge of honor because when he was growing up in San Pedro de Macoris in the D.R., his childhood was divided into three components: 'School, baseball and home,' he said. When he was 12, his parents pulled him out of school and entered him into a baseball academy.
'Where I come from,' Noel added, speaking about his neighborhood, 'I'm the first person to make it to the big leagues.'
Before that life-changing homer, Noel was swinging away in the batting cage beneath Progressive Field, adjacent to the Guardians' weight room. His swing felt fluid. It always feels powerful, he said — after all, he looks like Hercules waving a tree trunk. But he can feel in his hips and legs when he's on time and ready to pounce on a pitch. This particular session checked every box.
'I knew I was going to do something,' he said.
When Lane Thomas battled back from an 0-2 count to extend the game with a double off the wall and offer Noel a chance at October immortality, Noel knew he could complete the only mission he was dispatched to accomplish. In the stands, Noel's father, Rafael, sat with the slugger's agent. It was Rafael's first visit to the United States, and he left with a memory he'll cherish forever.
Noel doesn't like talking baseball with his dad, who tends to question swing decisions as if a split-second is ample time for a hitter to determine whether he can pummel a 92-mph slider on the outside corner. Over the winter, Noel and his dad watched games at a facility in the Dominican. A hitter waved at a fastball down the middle. Rafael said, 'Come on, man.' Noel replied, 'You see? It's not easy. Go hit yourself.'
'Baseball can drive you crazy,' Noel said, laughing.
He would know. He carried a .935 OPS into September in his rookie season, only to go 6-for-51 in September and then 1-for-15 before he calmly strolled to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of Game 3.
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Noel is hoping his October heroics put an end to all father-son second-guessing. Even without his father in his ear, he knows his swing decisions will determine whether he can carve out a regular role with the Guardians.
'When he hits a big home run, he's not smiling,' Vogt said. 'It's, 'I did my job. Here we go. Let's keep going.' Off the field, he's very smiley and engaged, but he knows how to lock it in and that's what makes him great.'
That's why, for Noel, it's all about baseball and becoming a more threatening hitter — at least, when he's not watching mob movies.
'That's how I'm learning to hone in,' he said. 'Do my best, put my clothes on and go home and watch a movie. Today, I'm gonna go watch 'The Godfather.''