Baker is currently in a rather large slide. In his last 34 PAs, he's hitting .156/.206/.156/.362 with no XBH and just 2 walks and a whopping 13 strikeouts.

 

Him struggling in the BB/K department after being great there last year and the start of this year isn't just a recent thing. Since May 6th, he has just 7 walks to 23 strikeouts in 85 PAs. Quite a far cry to the 0.62 BB/K he put up prior to that date, going back to last year.

 

May 6th is also rather significant, as it was the date that Baker moved down in the order, from the #2 spot. Since then, he's hit just .231/.294/.410/.704 after a .286/.383/.457/.840 start (a start that basically mirrored his line last year).

 

Has the move down in the order affected Baker's approach? Is he trying too hard to be an RBI guy now that he's moved down in the line up? I haven't really noticed anything visually, but I'm also not a scout. And given Baker's huge amount of patience, with him having one of the lowest Swing%'s in the league, it could just very well be pitchers have adjusted to him and going right after him.

 

Fact remains, he has a .311/.400/.492/.892 line with 8/15 BB/K hitting #2, and just a .218/.292/.391/.683 line with a 9/23 BB/K hitting anywhere else this season.

 

I normally don't put much stock into where players hit in the line up, but it there have been instances where players are affected. Alfonso Soriano is the most known example, having nearly a .100 OPS advantage leading off compared to the rest of the spots in the line up (and this is with a large sample size, as he has 2050 PAs hitting anywhere betwee #2-#9).

 

It should also be noted that last year he did not have this problem, hitting almost identically in the #2 spot as anywhere else. However, it should also be noted that the majority of hia PAs last year were hitting 8th, not in the middle of the line up. Last season, he only hit #2 (81 PAs), #7 (29), #8 (120), #9 (3).

 

And while Bonifacio has certainly shown improvement #2, it isn't nearly enough to warrant him the second most PAs on the team in my opinion. I'd much rather put Baker there, where has had a lot of success getting on base for our middle of the line up to drive in.

Yeah, this has been killing me as well.

I've noticed this too. I think he has changes his approch. Usually he goes the other way slot but lately he seems to be looking to pull.

Baker is currently in a rather large slide. In his last 34 PAs, he's hitting .156/.206/.156/.362 with no XBH and just 2 walks and a whopping 13 strikeouts.

 

Him struggling in the BB/K department after being great there last year and the start of this year isn't just a recent thing. Since May 6th, he has just 7 walks to 23 strikeouts in 85 PAs. Quite a far cry to the 0.62 BB/K he put up prior to that date, going back to last year.

 

May 6th is also rather significant, as it was the date that Baker moved down in the order, from the #2 spot. Since then, he's hit just .231/.294/.410/.704 after a .286/.383/.457/.840 start (a start that basically mirrored his line last year).

 

Has the move down in the order affected Baker's approach? Is he trying too hard to be an RBI guy now that he's moved down in the line up? I haven't really noticed anything visually, but I'm also not a scout. And given Baker's huge amount of patience, with him having one of the lowest Swing%'s in the league, it could just very well be pitchers have adjusted to him and going right after him.

 

Fact remains, he has a .311/.400/.492/.892 line with 8/15 BB/K hitting #2, and just a .218/.292/.391/.683 line with a 9/23 BB/K hitting anywhere else this season.

 

I normally don't put much stock into where players hit in the line up, but it there have been instances where players are affected. Alfonso Soriano is the most known example, having nearly a .100 OPS advantage leading off compared to the rest of the spots in the line up (and this is with a large sample size, as he has 2050 PAs hitting anywhere betwee #2-#9).

 

It should also be noted that last year he did not have this problem, hitting almost identically in the #2 spot as anywhere else. However, it should also be noted that the majority of hia PAs last year were hitting 8th, not in the middle of the line up. Last season, he only hit #2 (81 PAs), #7 (29), #8 (120), #9 (3).

 

And while Bonifacio has certainly shown improvement #2, it isn't nearly enough to warrant him the second most PAs on the team in my opinion. I'd much rather put Baker there, where has had a lot of success getting on base for our middle of the line up to drive in.

 

 

THANK YOU!!!

 

I've been waiting for someone to finally post his stats batting 2nd vs rest of the lineup!

 

It's in the stats Baker should be batting 2nd when he play's, plain and simple.

Baker is currently in a rather large slide. In his last 34 PAs, he's hitting .156/.206/.156/.362 with no XBH and just 2 walks and a whopping 13 strikeouts.

 

Him struggling in the BB/K department after being great there last year and the start of this year isn't just a recent thing. Since May 6th, he has just 7 walks to 23 strikeouts in 85 PAs. Quite a far cry to the 0.62 BB/K he put up prior to that date, going back to last year.

 

May 6th is also rather significant, as it was the date that Baker moved down in the order, from the #2 spot. Since then, he's hit just .231/.294/.410/.704 after a .286/.383/.457/.840 start (a start that basically mirrored his line last year).

 

Has the move down in the order affected Baker's approach? Is he trying too hard to be an RBI guy now that he's moved down in the line up? I haven't really noticed anything visually, but I'm also not a scout. And given Baker's huge amount of patience, with him having one of the lowest Swing%'s in the league, it could just very well be pitchers have adjusted to him and going right after him.

 

Fact remains, he has a .311/.400/.492/.892 line with 8/15 BB/K hitting #2, and just a .218/.292/.391/.683 line with a 9/23 BB/K hitting anywhere else this season.

 

I normally don't put much stock into where players hit in the line up, but it there have been instances where players are affected. Alfonso Soriano is the most known example, having nearly a .100 OPS advantage leading off compared to the rest of the spots in the line up (and this is with a large sample size, as he has 2050 PAs hitting anywhere betwee #2-#9).

 

It should also be noted that last year he did not have this problem, hitting almost identically in the #2 spot as anywhere else. However, it should also be noted that the majority of hia PAs last year were hitting 8th, not in the middle of the line up. Last season, he only hit #2 (81 PAs), #7 (29), #8 (120), #9 (3).

 

And while Bonifacio has certainly shown improvement #2, it isn't nearly enough to warrant him the second most PAs on the team in my opinion. I'd much rather put Baker there, where has had a lot of success getting on base for our middle of the line up to drive in.

 

 

I agree with you. Bake is my favorite Marlin ( I think everyone knows this), but he's been watching alot of strikes go by, and swinging at some God awful pitches lately. I think it does have to do with his hitting spot on the lineup, since lately it looks like he's swinging for the fences and trying to be the "rbi guy." I think that if pitchers had adjusted to him, it would have happened sooner. Look at how everyone attacked Bonifacio with the high fastball. It must've happened within two to three weeks! And though Baker is no veteran, he's still been playing as consistently as he did September of last season.Something I found EXTREMELY surprising this season. I could've sworn scouting reports would have diminished his effectiveness, or maybe it takes longer when the player isn't bonifacio? I don't know, but something happened in May, and hopefully getting bashed in the head by a Pujols swing will cure all that! Also, I

It's quite simple in my eyes - when Baker bats 2nd he is simply trying to get on base with the comfort of knowing Hanley is right behind him with the potential to drive him in or at least keep the inning going. When batting 8th and with the pitcher coming up he is naturally going to be trying a bat too hard to do too much and as can be seen from the stats, he has struggled down there.

 

Bonifacio batting 8th would be a good thing. Take for example Boner gets on base and steals 2nd with 0 outs, then the pitcher can bunt him over to second, giving Coghlan or whoever is leading off the opportunity to score him via a sac fly or even a ground out.

It's quite simple in my eyes - when Baker bats 2nd he is simply trying to get on base with the comfort of knowing Hanley is right behind him with the potential to drive him in or at least keep the inning going. When batting 8th and with the pitcher coming up he is naturally going to be trying a bat too hard to do too much and as can be seen from the stats, he has struggled down there.

 

Bonifacio batting 8th would be a good thing. Take for example Boner gets on base and steals 2nd with 0 outs, then the pitcher can bunt him over to second, giving Coghlan or whoever is leading off the opportunity to score him via a sac fly or even a ground out.

 

 

That'd seem like a Boner-esque play

It's quite simple in my eyes - when Baker bats 2nd he is simply trying to get on base with the comfort of knowing Hanley is right behind him with the potential to drive him in or at least keep the inning going. When batting 8th and with the pitcher coming up he is naturally going to be trying a bat too hard to do too much and as can be seen from the stats, he has struggled down there.

 

Bonifacio batting 8th would be a good thing. Take for example Boner gets on base and steals 2nd with 0 outs, then the pitcher can bunt him over to second, giving Coghlan or whoever is leading off the opportunity to score him via a sac fly or even a ground out.

 

 

That'd seem like a Boner-esque play

 

Lol you know I meant 3rd

It's quite simple in my eyes - when Baker bats 2nd he is simply trying to get on base with the comfort of knowing Hanley is right behind him with the potential to drive him in or at least keep the inning going. When batting 8th and with the pitcher coming up he is naturally going to be trying a bat too hard to do too much and as can be seen from the stats, he has struggled down there.

 

Bonifacio batting 8th would be a good thing. Take for example Boner gets on base and steals 2nd with 0 outs, then the pitcher can bunt him over to second, giving Coghlan or whoever is leading off the opportunity to score him via a sac fly or even a ground out.

 

 

That'd seem like a Boner-esque play

 

Lol you know I meant 3rd

 

I did, but, I also couldn't resist

I agree that Baker is the perfect man for the #2 spot. Him and Coughlan getting on regularly for the 3, 4, and 5 hitters would be a thing of beauty. I just wish Fredi would pull the trigger already and make Baker the permanent #2 hitter and at the very least move Boner down in the lineup.

I think how a guy hits depends on his talent and not on the spot of the lineup where he hits.

I think how a guy hits depends on his talent and not on the spot of the lineup where he hits.

 

 

I think most of us typically feel this way. The whole point of this thread the NNYs original post is to suggest that there may be an exception here.

Could you have came up with a better thread title?

agree 100%. How many times did we see Baker pull off a perfect hit & run? Put him back at #2 for god sakes. I agree with Nny about not putting much into the order... but why not give it a shot.

 

This gets back to having better hitters at the top of the order.

I think how a guy hits depends on his talent and not on the spot of the lineup where he hits.

 

 

I think most of us typically feel this way. The whole point of this thread the NNYs original post is to suggest that there may be an exception here.

 

Many people subscribe to the batting order theory and pull it out when players they like struggle. Go look at the Maybin threads. Supposedly he struggled because he was hitting 8th. I don't buy it. BTW, Baker OPSed .959 hitting 8th last year.

I think how a guy hits depends on his talent and not on the spot of the lineup where he hits.

 

 

I think most of us typically feel this way. The whole point of this thread the NNYs original post is to suggest that there may be an exception here.

 

Many people subscribe to the batting order theory and pull it out when players they like struggle. Go look at the Maybin threads. Supposedly he struggled because he was hitting 8th. I don't buy it. BTW, Baker OPSed .959 hitting 8th last year.

 

Maybin and Baker excelled in the 1 and 2 spots respectively and then became garbage when batting 8th. I believe there is some substance to the "batting order theory".

I think how a guy hits depends on his talent and not on the spot of the lineup where he hits.

 

 

That's not entirely true, especially with spots like leadoff and second compared to down in a lineup.

Do you think with that article that came out where fredi suggested Bonifacio hitting 9th and pitcher 8th that Baker will go back to the second spot?