There are certain batters you associate with strike outs. Adam Dunn comes to mind. So does Mark Reynolds.
One guy you don’t normally think of when it comes to strikeouts is New York Mets’ 3B David Wright. But now perhaps we should.
Wright is striking out at a prolific rate in 2010.
Before we get to what is going on with Wright in 2010, we have to first go back to 2009 to see the start of Wright’s increased strikeout rate. Four the first four years of Wright’s career, he struck out about 19 percent of the time every year.
He was pretty consistent in that category.
However, in 2009, Wright’s strike out rate drastically increased. Last year, Wright was whiffing 26.2 percent of his ABs. To put that rate in perspective, Wright’s was the 15th worst amongst all qualifying Major League hitters last year.
Along with his increased strike out rate, Wright also saw a massive decrease in his offensive production. Wright only hit 10 home runs with an .837 OPS. All those numbers were the lowest of his career.
Heading into the 2010, many (myself included) figured Wright would have a rebound season and a season that resembled his first four full seasons in the Major Leagues. While his overall numbers have returned, his strikeout rate has actually increased.
Through 32 games, Wright has seven home runs and a .930 OPS. His .930 OPS is 15th in the National League. However, Wright is striking out a whopping 37.5 percent of the time this year. That is second in the National League.
To put that number in perspective, the above mentioned Dunn is only striking out 31.8 percent of the time this year. Things have gotten so bad for Wright this year, that he went nine straight ABs with a strikeout.
The streak ended during his second AB last night against the Washington Nationals, but still, striking out nine straight times is one heck of a feat.
Wright is on pace for around 210 strikeouts this year. If he continues this pace, he will finish second for most strike outs in a season. Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3B has the current record of 223.
My take on strikeouts is as long as the guy is producing, strikeouts don’t matter. Ryan Howard is always up there amongst the league leaders in strikeouts and he hasn’t prevented the Philadelphia Phillies from making back-to-back World Series.
Sure, would you like a guy not to strike out as much and be able to advance a runner or drive in a run—absolutely. But sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.
In Wright’s case, it looks like Met fans are going to have to take the increased production with the increased strikeout rate.
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