Hitting the Foul Pole

Around the beginning of September, Denard Span felt the need to shake things up. He’s had a rough year, and especially since the All Star break he’d been struggling.

From the All Star break to September 2, Span had more strikeouts than walks, only 7 extra base hits in 199 plate appearances, a paltry 7 RBI, and 4 stolen bases against 3 times caught stealing (plus countless times “picked off,” which don’t count as a caught-stealing for whatever reason). His triple-slash for that period was .244/.306/.283, for a .589 OPS … which is about what you’d expect to get from your backup CF at AAA. These were not good times.

Span has long been one of the “new school” players who prefers full-length pants, with the hem down below his ankles. Objectively, I guess, it looks less stupid that way than the shorter pants with high socks. But given that there are only so many things you can do to “shake things up,” Denard decided to wear his socks high and see how it felt.

He went 2-4 with a double on September 3. Wearing his socks up felt good.

I think I will be going with the high pants again today @thisisdspan

Span tweeted that the next morning. That day, he went 2-4 again, with a walk. After that series with the Rangers, Span must have found himself at a crossroads: go back to the long pants that he’s more comfortable with, or stick with the shorter pants that he’s hitting well in?

I’m debating how long I should go with my pants up past this labor day weekend… @thisisdspan

In baseball, goofy stuff like how you wear your pants matters. Apparent nonsense about “respecting the streak,” and what not, but the point is that if Span thinks he can play better with his socks high, then, well, he can play better with his socks high. That’s one of the oldest truths of baseball.

Plus, it makes you look more like a baseball player. At least, I think so.

The rest of your career! RT @thisisdspan: I’m debating how long I should go with my pants up past this labor day weekend… @sirsean

So far, Span has listened. (Or, more likely, has decided to respect the streak, as I’m guessing he doesn’t actually listen to random dudes who tweet things at him.)

Since then he’s worn his socks high every game, and in 49 plate appearances he’s walked the same number of times as he’s struck out, he has an impressive 10 RBI, he has 3 steals and hasn’t been caught stealing (and I don’t recall any pickoffs); he’s hitting .286/.354/.429, for a .783 OPS which is pretty close to the sort of performance that got him his contract in the first place.

Keep your socks up, Denard!

Delmon Young has been white hot.  But you all know that.  Out west (actually, south) Josh Hamilton of the Rangers has been equally hot.  Literally. Their numbers in July are shockingly close.  Let’s take a look:

The only places Delmon has a noticble advantage  are batting average and RBI.  These are from ESPN, so forgive their basic-ness, but I think it’s best to use these for any discussion, because I can’t see AL sportswriters delving any deeper.  Another factor we have to consider is probably team record during the month of July.  Now, why this would have any bearing on an INDIVIDUAL award is beyond me, but we all now that is how it works.  Surprise! Both teams are 11-11 as of this morning.

While a player of the month award for July couldn’t get much less important, I just find it interesting how well, and similar, these two guys have been playing.  Delmon is probably still considered a “bad apple” by many, and Hamilton will probably always been a “feel good story”.  So, we’ll have to see if one of these two guys (or teams) can distinguish themselves from the other over the next few days.  What does everyone else think?

Buster Olney relates this interesting story about Twins prospect Brock Peterson (insider only):

Twins infielder Brock Peterson had this story of justice from last year. He was at the plate and smoked a foul ball into the stands and hit a woman square in the forehead, the blood pouring off the wound. Peterson was shaken by this, stepped out of the batter’s box to try to compose himself, and the home plate umpire humanely encouraged him to get settled. “He gave me something like three minutes,” Peterson recalled.

As medical personnel rushed to help the woman — who would turn out to be OK — Peterson remained out of the box. The opposing pitcher started yelling for him to get going, to get the game restarted. The pitcher’s demeanor, in the face of what was going on in the stands, apparently bothered the umpire, because when Peterson took a 3-2 pitch right down the middle, the umpire called it ball four.

Frankly, I’d rather the umpires stick to the strike zone rather than trying to judge the pitcher’s morals.

But I think this story brings into focus the fact that a baseball game isn’t the safest place to be, and that when a fan gets hurt the players themselves can be just as shaken as the injured party.

I know Brock Peterson will probably never play for the Twins — he’s stuck behind these guys called “Justin Morneau” and “Jason Kubel” — but as of now I’m rooting for him to succeed in this league. I hope he makes it somewhere.