There’s long been this kind of running joke about people never having seen Josh Hamilton hit because he so frequently hacks away at the first pitch before anyone can get settled in. It’s frustrating to me as a fan because I’ve always enjoyed hitters who are patient and can work the count. But Josh is near the bottom in the league in number of pitches seen.
I looked up some numbers on baseball-reference and the ratio is staggering. He is swinging at the first pitch 42% of his plate appearances. The league average is 27%. Most good hitters are below the average, for instance Pujols is at 18% and Joe Mauer is at an unbelievable 5%. It certainly makes me think Josh does not trust himself to get deep in the count, and does not know how to work a count so he gets the pitch he wants. The following numbers bear this out: he is hitting .422 when he swings at the first pitch! But anytime he gets behind in the count, his average plummets to .196!
At 31 I don’t know whether he will learn any patience or learn to hit from behind in the count. It’s clear that he has just unbelievable talent, but doesn’t really know about the art of hitting. I’ve never liked watching hackers hit, but I guess I will just have to accept and appreciate his talents for what they are.
S
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