Bulletin board material for Phillies
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Bulletin board material for Phillies
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Occupying a central place in the Phillies clubhouse is a large bulletin board, which features the daily lineup, the pitching schedule, and other assorted odds and ends that need to be seen by the entire team. It sits next to a refrigerator that is stocked with water. My favorite thing about the bulletin board this spring had been the requisite OSHA posting that lists the number of work days missed due to injury over the previous year (it is something like 668 days). But yesterday a new item appeared. It is a photocopy of a graphic from a publication -- it looks like Baseball America, although I'm not positive -- that breaks down the major league batting averages on balls in play on swings in certain counts. The graphic illustrates what every hitting coach preaches: get the count in your favor, and you've got a better chance of getting a pitch that you can turn into a pitch. The moral: work the count.
I don't know who posted the photocopy, but I don't remember anything like it ever being posted before.
Just an interesting little tidbit for a team that has been criticized for its approach at the plate.
OSHA with one A. And let's have a reader poll on the chances the Phillies pay attention to the photocopy. Will the additions of Michael Young and Ben Revere, and the subtraction of Shane Victorino, mean a more patient approach at the plate?
I never understood the premise of "working the count". The key to hitting is to find your pitch and hit it, whether that pitch comes first or it comes in the tenth pitch of the at-bat is irrelevant.
I would have no problem with a .330 hitter or only saw 2 pitches per plate appearance vs. a .250 hitter who spends 15 minutes at the plate every at-bat.— The Moose is Loose- The subtraction of Victorino and Pence was a major philosophical leap forward. The instant rally killers are gone.— JayW
- Overall a good idea but you gotta know the pitcher, too. I believe it's the Braves who first pitch hit Lee all the time because they know he's throwing a strike on that count. Not sure "0-0" is in the hitters favor?— Mike in LA
- Pitches per plate appearance over the last three years:
3.56 - Revere
3.61 - M. Young
3.72 - Victorino
3.79 - Pence
So no, Revere and Young are not going to help in this regard. Having said that, as others have said, this isn't the end all, and it's the end result that counts.— schmenkman - Moose- are you even a baseball fan? 1. Name a .330 hitter on the Phillies. 2. A .250 hitter who works the pitcher for 15 minutes (your numbers) is likely to see about 20 pitches. By that estimate, a lineup full of those types will burn out the other teams starter by the 3rd inning. Eventually he gets tired, sloppy, velocity drops and he starts grooving pitches to avoid walks. The strategy is as old as the game itself.— Santa Satan
- It means don't go up there guessing - wasting a big swing with no clue what the pitcher's got that day, if you have a history with the pitcher thaen maybe, first pitch fastball for example, but only if you know him. Rose used to excell in the league championship series, some said because e knew the pitchers in his league, but would have little succes in the World Series, at least the first time through the pichers, second time he'd be better. I don't see many Rose's on this roster.— robinlupe
- And it means having a mentality that you're going to make the pitcher work and get up into his pitch count and into the other team's bullpen consistently...and then work them, too. The 1993 team was great at it.— PhillySubsMac
- Leadoff hitter Richie Ashburn would spend 15 minutes at the plate in the beginning of a game and hit or not it adversely affected the opposing starting pitcher. Working the count full and fouling off more than a dozen pitches put that starter at an early disadvantage. You hang on to a .250 hitter that gives you valuable minutes like that at the plate.— escapedcamden4monterey
- "Get the count in your favor, and you've got a better chance of getting a pitch that you can turn into a pitch". Does that make any sense?— cooperhawk
