San Francisco Giants Must Walk To Stay Alive

Low On-Base Percentage Hinders SF Baseball

Aug 26, 2009

The most obvious reason the San Francisco Giants aren't leading the National League West is that their bats don't have much pop. But actually, it's much more than that.

The Giants are still in contention for a playoff berth -- if precariously so -- and that's mainly because of standout pitching.

Offense has been another story. The Giants' team batting average -- .261 entering their Aug. 26 game vs. Arizona -- isn't terrible. But things obviously become more difficult if you don't hit a lot of home runs. And San Francisco ranks second to last in the National League in homers with 89, surpassing only the New York Mets.

Yet that alone isn't what's holding the Giants back. Not all championship teams have a lot of power.

Another major obstacle is that the Giants don't walk much. Barring an incredible run of bases on balls, San Francisco will finish last in the NL in walks -- and by a large margin.

The Giants rank 16th and dead last in the league with 291 walks -- a whole 71 less than No. 15. Houston.

Giants' On-Base Percentage is One of NL's Worst

The Giants own a team on-base percentage of .310, ranking next to last in the NL to Cincinnati.

That wouldn't be so pivotal if San Francisco hitters were regularly smacking the ball out of the ballpark, but we know that's not the case. Without an abundance of power, the Giants need to manufacture runs any way they can. And that's not easy when you don't put people aboard any way you can.

With its current cast, SF will never be great at drawing walks. After all, teams face more strikes when pitchers aren't fearful about being taken deep.

But the Giants could definitely be better at it. It could determine whethr they remain in the playoff race.

SF Lineup Dominated Free SwingersSan Francisco's lineup is overflowing with free swingers.

Take catcher Bengie Molina. He's batting .261 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs -- not bad numbers, but ones that are very sub-par for a cleanup hitter. And take into account that Molina's walked just 12 times in 445 plate appearances. That's amazing.

Outfielder Aaron Rowand gives the Giants some punch, batting .278 with 12 homers and 53 RBIs. But Rowand has just 24 walks in 438 plate appearances -- and he's struck out a whopping 102 times, most on the team.

SF's best hitter by far this season has been Pablo Sandoval, who leads the team with a .331 average, 19 homers and 78 RBIs. One knock on the young third baseman has been that he swings too freely. But Sandoval actually ranks second on the team in walks, with 34 in 492 plate appearances.

First on the team is outfielder Randy Wynn, who has just 37 in with 500 plate appearances. And Wynn, a .270 hitter who lacks power, has struck out 79 times -- second on the team to Rowand.

The only SF regular -- or semi-regular -- who's shown any proficiency for walks is Fred Lewis. Lewis has managed to draw 32 walks in 304 plate appearances. But he's also struck out 77 times --third most on the club.

Sandoval (.380) and Lewis (.355) are the only ones the team with on-base percentages over .350.

Entering the Aug. 26 game, San Francisco trailed the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by six games in the NL West, and was four behind Colorado in the wild-card race.

The pitching staff, led by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, has turned in a league-low .352 ERA and kept the Giants alive. But it's clear that SF needs an extra shot of offense -- and maybe walks -- for the stretch run.

There are at least encouraging facts. The 1988 Dodgers had an on-base percentage of .305, and the New York Mets had one of .311. Both teams went on to win the World Series.

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