The Ultimate Pat Burrell Post: Part 3 - Walks

Please read with an open mind:

Continuing with our Burrell Posts, today we will attempt to rectify the argument that Burrell is only looking to walk and not swing the bat...

The statement we so often hear:
Pat Burrell sucks. He walks way too much and doesn't swing the bat when it matters most

A year ago you could substitute Abreu’s name in there. The statement that Burrell is only looking for a walk is often presented by Burrell-haters using his famous “ass-out” strikeout pose as proof. Their claim is that your cleanup hitters should not be looking for a walk rather they should be driving in runs. On this issue, however, we cannot not totally disagree with the argument. Your 3-4-5 hitters are your RBI guys and we all know you can’t get many of them simply by walking. Being aggressive at the plate is indeed something Burrell needs to work on… After all, we here at Driven to Deep Center are not calling Burrell the most perfect or complete player.

Being selective can have its advantages though. In 2006, Burrell led the National League in P/PA with 4.3. This is a stat that every player should strive to be on top of. We so often hear that we want Rollins to look at more pitches (maybe only because he is our leadoff man). But you will never hear a fan state “Damn, (insert players name here) sucks. He never swings at the first pitch. He takes a lot of pitches and is very selective.” Burrell leading the team (and league) in pitches seen has many perks. For one, it drives the pitchers pitch count up. Yes, this is a small facet of being selective but it is true. It also allows other teammates to get a look at the opposing pitchers arsenal. Once again, this isn’t a huge perk of Burrell’s selectivity. It is, however, a plus.

A high On Base Percentage is also a stat every player should try to improve. Burrell’s OBP the past 3 years:
2004: .365
2005: .389
2006: .388
Talk about consistency…even in Burrell’s ‘horrific’ 2006, his OBP was practically identical to his fantastic 2005. Also, I never read Michael Lewis’ Moneyball, but I am pretty sure one of the methods Billy Beane used to building a winning team was the underrated OBP. Burrell excels in this area. A higher OBP results in a higher turnover in the lineup, more opportunities for runs to score and higher pitch counts to opposing pitchers. Also, when Burrell goes into those weeklong slumps he is known to have (like all player in baseball), his OBP remains a constant in his game. He will still be on base almost 40% of the time always making his at-bat a productive one. Once again the underlying theme in a high OBP is greater opportunities to score runs, which after all is how you win baseball games.

We here agree his aggressiveness at the plate, especially with runners on, should be improved. Leading the league in strikeouts looking is something no player wants to be known for and is a very frustrating part of Pat’s game. But remember that September 15 game at Houston? Burrell was up in the first inning, vs the Rocket, bases loaded, 3-2 count…half of Philly expecting a strikeout. Nope…an aggressive Pat hit a grand slam, winning the game for us. Final score: 4-3. All runs knocked in by ‘the bat’. That is the aggressiveness we agree needs to be a part of Burrell’s game in 2007. Please, however, don't knock the man for having an OBP hovering close to .400 or a P/PA that leads the league.

Once again, we are not claiming that Pat Burrell is the best Phillie ever or that he is the next Willie Mays. Just simply stating that he is the most unjustly hated Pro Athlete in Philadelphia today. Thank you.

Tomorrow: Day off... Happy New Years!