Cicada watch in downtown has turned up nothing, yet again. I'm not really sure what the deal is, though I guess it's just a week or two off from what was predicted. Seems like they should be showing up though. Tonight I was heading out to Itasca (about 40 minutes west) to play softball so I figured I'd see plenty of cicadas out there. Heck, they might even hinder our game!
However I was disappointed yet again. No cicada sightings at all.
For the last month or so, I've been really struggling hitting. Occasionally I would have a good day, but most days my on base average was down in the .300-.400 range. When I have my stroke, my on base average (OBA) is closer to .700 if not over. Well, when you're 41 and playing with mostly twenty-somethings, you need to excel at SOMETHING to keep your spot on the field. Those areas include: speed, hitting, fielding, throwing and being versatile to play various positions. I was never blessed with speed, so I always worked on the other four areas. Last year though, we added some new players who admittedly had similar if not better fielding skills and arms. So that left me with hitting and being able to play several positions, but hitting is the real key for me.
Even without good speed, I've batted near the top of the order because I find a way to get on base for the people behind me so they can knock me in. If my OBA is .300-.400 though, I'm getting on base (by any means in our OBA calculation) half as much as I was previously. Even for players who don't pay attention to stats, my absence from the base paths has been noticeable.
Tonight though, I focused on a few things: take more pitches, keep my hands back and hit the ball where it is pitched (outside then to right, inside then to left). As a lead-off hitter, which I am not lately, I would take pitches and work the count to make the pitcher throw me a pitch where I wanted it. Then I could just hit it to whichever field was appropriate. As I've dropped out of the lead-off spot though, I find myself up with people on base and trying to hit behind the runner, even if the pitch dictates otherwise. Plus I wasn't taking as many pitches (for no particular reason), so more often I was hitting the pitcher's pitch instead of a pitch to my liking.
The result tonight was 4 for 7, a .570 clip, no walks, an another hard hit ball on which the centerfielder made a diving catch. That one diving catch kept me from being over .700, so in my mind at least, I hit the ball well and feel like I have my head around this thing now. The big test will be the week after next when we have a tournament in Champaign-Urbana.....my alma mater!!
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3 comments:
Hey Joe --
You shouldn't look at OBP as a game-by-game thing (or tourney-by-tourney). It will definitely have wild swings from week to week because of the incredibly small sample size. Anyone can hit anything in 100 ABs, so it's even more true when you're only looking at 25 or so. Looking at 7 is just ridiculous. Cesar Izturis has had more than one 3-hit games, so what does tht prove?
As for hitting advince, I think you need to keep trying to do hat you did when you hit leadoff -- i.e., focus on *your* pitch and try to get on base. Don't worry so much about sacrificing yourself by hitting the other way, etc. In your game, OBP is everything, and the runs will take care of themselves, especially if you're expecting an OBP in the .700 range.
Put another way, if you're expecting yourself to reach base 70% of the time, what are you doing worrying about sacrificing and moving runners along?
Good luck!
d f, I barely bat 100 times a season! All I can look at is the short term...maybe 25 at bats. Anyway, you have the right point: why am I worrying about hitting behind runners and such if my natural tendencies get me on 70% of the time? Because I'm a dumb ass, that's why. Now I know though, and knowing is half the battle.....G.I. Joe!!!
Well done old man
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