First pitch swinging

July 07, 2008 09:53 pm

— One of the columns I hope to write some day — but haven't quite figured out how to organize it — is about the penchant Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez (but particularly Young) have for swinging at the first pitch.

Monday's loss to the Red Sox was a case in point. Twice Young came up with two outs and the bases loaded, facing a pitcher who was having trouble throwing strikes. Both times he swung at the first pitch and hit a weak ground ball.

According to ESPN.com, Young had, entering Monday's game, 54 at-bats ithat ended on the 0-0 count — in other words, the first pitch. That's a bit more than 17 percent of his total at-bats. That's a high number.Yes, he was hitting .315 in those at-bats — slightly higher than his total average — but with a lower on-base percentage than his total OBP.

The thing about hacking at the first pitch is that if you don't put the ball in play, it's a strike. And Young's breakdowns — any hitter's really — get much worse when behind in the count. So far this year, when Young's ahead in the count, he hits almost .500 — 25 for 53, .471. (That's the at-bats that end on 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0 and 3-1.)

Think about that. A bit more than halfway through the season, and he has 53 at-bats in which he was ahead in the count (67 if you include the 14 walks he's gotten on 3-0 and 3-1 counts) — and 54 in which he hit the first pitch. Fifty-six now.

Delmon Young has a lot of talent. But those numbers suggest that he hasn't learned to use it. Which, given that he's 22, is probably to be expected.

e-mail Edward Thoma