Camden Depot: Walking Machado

[weams]

http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-hasnt-manny-machado-taken-more-walks.html

Aside from a possibly flukish jump at the beginning of the count, Machado has hit just as well with one ball as he has with two or three. (The major-league average wOBA without bases on balls usually sits around .280.) Based on this, Machado doesn't appear to benefit from his swing uptick.

Perhaps, if Machado maintained his moderation as he went deeper into the count, he'd see fewer hittable pitches, and his production later in the at-bat would drop off. But would the losses there compensate for the gains made by walking more often?

[weams]

Chris Davis could have walked last night.

[jsbearr]

Chris Davis could have walked last night.

I am no longer involved in the day-to-day operation of Camden Depot with nearly all of my attention now with Baseball Prospectus, but I do think something may have gotten lost.

Chris Davis should be hitting pitches that he can drive as should Manny Machado. If that pitch comes with the first or fifteenth in an at bat, it does not matter. The idea about going deeper into pitch counts is that (1) it indicates a batter is able to abstain from hitting poor pitches that result in no or poor contact and (2) that a batter is more likely to see better pitches because the pitcher is more likely to throw over the plate.

So all of this gets boiled down to going deeper into the count, but that should not be taken as law nor do I think it is being suggested as law in the article. Getting deeper in the count could easily be translated to swinging at pitches you can drive. There are times Chris Davis should take four balls in a game where the team is down a couple runs and there are pitches he needs to swing at. He swung at and was able to get solid contact on a couple of those pitches last night.