Turn Off Ads?
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Member NJReds's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    New Jersey, USA
    Posts
    5,435

    Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    A few snippets from an article about Blue Jays hitting coach Dwayne Murphy and his "grip it and rip it" philosophy.

    I thought it was interesting as it seems to go against the growing trend of OBA and taking a lot of pitches.

    The no-name, some-game Jays – none is in the top four of the AL All-Star balloting through this week – have adopted a single, simple strategy: Get ready, get a pitch, swing hard.

    “Murph’s a big believer in getting started early and letting it fly,” said Vernon Wells(notes), the club’s resurgent cleanup hitter. “If you know anything about him, he didn’t hold anything back at the plate. He expects the same out of us.”
    Through Tuesday night, when Jose Bautista(notes), Aaron Hill(notes) and Jeremy Reed(notes) went deep in Anaheim for the entirety of the Jays’ scoring against Angels starter Ervin Santana, you could find Murph men ranking first (Bautista, 15), fifth (Wells, 11) and eighth (Alex Gonzalez, 10) in the AL in home runs. Four Jays are in the top 20 and eight in the top 31. You could also find the Jays – as a whole – second in the major leagues in strikeouts, 25th in batting, 22nd in walks and 29th in on-base percentage.

    “I think on-base percentage is an overrated stat,” Murphy said flatly. “Those guys getting on base, most of them aren’t getting them in. Give me somebody who drives them in after that. I need guys who can drive the ball.”

    Bautista recited the mantra: Get ready, get a pitch and swing hard.

    “You can’t change these guys’ swings,” Murphy said. “Their swings are their swings. You can’t do much. You change a guy’s mechanics and by game time they revert back to what they were. It’s the hardest thing to do. Guys are taught, ‘See the ball, let it travel,’ a lot of terms. Instead of, ‘Get ready, get a good pitch to hit and barrel it up.’

    “I’m not going to make Jose Bautista a .300 hitter. He’s a .240 hitter. But, he’s a .240 hitter who can do some damage.”
    "The players make the manager, it's never the other way." - Sparky Anderson

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Shelburne Falls, MA
    Posts
    12,216

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Very interesting.

    We'll see how long the Jays offense stays productive.

  3. #3
    Be the ball Roy Tucker's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Location
    Mason, OH
    Posts
    18,201

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Quote Originally Posted by NJReds View Post
    “I think on-base percentage is an overrated stat,” Murphy said flatly. “Those guys getting on base, most of them aren’t getting them in. Give me somebody who drives them in after that. I need guys who can drive the ball.”
    They just clog the bases.
    She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning

  4. #4
    Member pedro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    portland, oregon
    Posts
    15,200

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Dwayne was a good CF. Played hella shallow.

    I remember going and seeing him play for the A's when I was in HS.
    School's out. What did you expect?

  5. #5
    breath westofyou's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    PDX
    Posts
    56,984

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Quote Originally Posted by pedro View Post
    Dwayne was a good CF. Played hella shallow.

    I remember going and seeing him play for the A's when I was in HS.
    Total underrated stud

  6. #6
    breath westofyou's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    PDX
    Posts
    56,984

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Quote Originally Posted by NJReds View Post

    I thought it was interesting as it seems to go against the growing trend of OBA and taking a lot of pitches.
    He's not even looking at his own career

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...urphdw01.shtml

    .246 BA
    .356 OB%

  7. #7
    Et tu, Brutus? Brutus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Atlanta, Ga.
    Posts
    10,904

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    I aspire to see the harmonious universe where both OBP and power can coexist together, and not in mutually exclusive relationship to one another.

    If you get on base a bunch but don't have guys knocking them over and in, it will not do you a ton of good. If you have a bunch of guys cranking homers but few people on base, you're still not going to score a ton.

    The right answer is that both OBP and isolated power are important and you want both. They're not overrated or underrated - just sometimes taken out of context.

    As a rule of thumb, the quickest run estimation (or at least most accurate intuitively without a more detailed calculation) is OBP * SLG. OPS won out as a mainstream stat because it's easier to calculate.
    "No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda

  8. #8
    The Lineups stink. KronoRed's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    West N. Carolina
    Posts
    62,139

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    I don't understand the guys who somehow see obp and batting avg as being opposed, as if HITS don't count for getting on base.
    Go Gators!

  9. #9
    Member RedsManRick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Guelph, ON
    Posts
    19,441

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    The idea that proponents of OBP are about taking pitches is just wrong. It's about taking pitches that you can't drive. It's quite possible that the grip it and rip it approach leads to more walks because you don't have guys doing anything and everything just to put the ball in play. There's a reason sluggers tend to be walkers and its not just because pitchers are avoiding them.
    Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.

  10. #10
    Member 15fan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    6,004

    Re: Blue Jays hitting coach as team swinging for the fences

    Bret and Aaron Boone approve of this hitting philosophy.


Turn Off Ads?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.

Thank you, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves!


RedsZone.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds or Major League Baseball


Contact us: Boss | Gallen5862 | Plus Plus | Powel Crosley | RedlegJake | The Operator