This is what I get for being upbeat about Dusty Baker in my last post. We all know Dusty’s ridiculous statements regarding on-base percentage. Well, for those who think he’s learned anything on that point, I give you this:
Baker has repeatedly talked about the desire to have a do-it-all leadoff hitter with speed. What kinds of hitters is he looking for further down the lineup? Does he want guys with lofty on-base percentages? The answer will likely not sit well with fans of the book “Moneyball,” because Baker said he believes the OBP statistic is overvalued.
“I’m big on driving in runs and scoring runs,” Baker said. “Guys in the middle should score about close to equal to what they drive in. On-base percentage, that’s fine and dandy. But a lot of times guys get so much into on-base percentage that they cease to swing. It’s becoming a little bit out of control.
“What you do is run the pitcher’s count up, that helps,” Baker said. “You put him in the stretch, that helps. But your job in the middle is to either score them or drive them in. The name of the game is scoring runs. Sometimes, you get so caught up in on-base percentage that you’re clogging up the bases.”
“[C]logging up the bases.” He said that in the last day or two.
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.