OB1 posted: My son has struggled at the plate this year. I've struggled with where to have him in the line up and here is why.
PA-23, AB-11, AVG-.182, OBP-.609 H-2, RBI-4, R-7, BB-10, HBP-2, SO-6, K-L-5, SB-7.
So the obvious, like I said he is struggling making contact with the ball. I have had him back and forth from the 2 spot to the 9 spot as a "second lead-off" man, mainly because up until last week he had a .900+ OBP. But here is what I can tell you just from his stats. First, he is patient at the plate and hes scored more than 3 times the amount he has gotten hits. However, you can see that out of 6 SO, 5 were looking. So I think that is an indicator that if someone is too patient at the plate it can begin to make them look at strikes too close to the zone. Now, what I have told him is that he needs to change one thing...expand his zone with 2 strikes. If it were not for the 5 K-L out of 6 SO I would say he's a great patient batter, but that stat indicates that he is looking to walk. There comes a time to be aggressive and there comes a time to be patient...2 strikes is not a time to be patient.
As to the original question and my son's stats...well, he has 2 hits and 10 BB and has scored 4 RBI's and 7 runs...my opinion, as walk is as good as a single in most cases.
How do those stats prove he’s struggling making contact with the ball? IMHO, the only way to measure contact is to divide the number of pitches contact is made on by the number of pitches swung at.
How do you measure patience? I’ve always computed the number of pitches per PA as an indication.
I agree a walk is as good as a single in most cases.