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07-25-2010, 10:48 AM
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100...ally-i-hit
Reds right-hander Leake is 7-1 with a 3.45 ERA entering his start today at Houston. Leake also entered the weekend batting .385, tops among major league pitchers with at least 40 plate appearances. Next was Dan Haren of Arizona at .352.
A .385 average would rank No. 6 all-time for a pitcher with at least 40 plate appearances in a single season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"I like to get on base every time," Leake said. "It started in high school. I hated getting out, and I still do."
The best batting averages for pitchers, according to Elias, are .433 by Walter Johnson ( in 1925), .427 by Jack Bentley (1923), .417 by Allen Watson (1995), .396 by Carl Scheib (1951) and .395 by Wes Obermueller (2004).
Don Newcombe holds the Reds season record, .350 in 1958. (Newcombe that year hit .417 for the Dodgers before joining the Reds in mid-June, and hit .350 after joining the Reds. His season average was .361).
Leake is 15-for-39 this year with a double, two RBI and four runs scored. Leake has walked four times and has an on-base percentage of .442. Leake has struck out only nine times, the fewest among Reds starting pitchers.
Leake was a good hitter in high school, batting .431 as a junior and .342 as a senior. Leake hit 18 homers over those two years.
Leake also got to bat some at Arizona State, where he played multiple positions when not pitching. As a sophomore in 2008, Leake hit .340 with two homers and 11 RBI.
The average National League pitcher is batting .151 this year. Most pitchers are relatively poor hitters. American League pitchers usually don't bat all because of the designated hitter rule, but they do bat some in interleague play.
Other Reds starters' averages, among those who have pitched most of this season, include Bronson Arroyo (.190), Johnny Cueto (.156) and Aaron Harang (.152).
Micah Owings, sent to Louisville last week, generally was considered the big bat among recent Reds pitchers. Owings is a career .293 hitter, with nine homers and 34 RBI.
Reds manager Dusty Baker said Leake may be hitting well in part because he still has on his hitting shoes from Arizona State.
"Number one, he thinks he can hit," Baker said. "Number two, he has real good balance and a nice swing. Plus, he's not too far removed from it in college.
"You take a guy three or four years out of college, some of them haven't hit in some time. The longer you're away from hitting, the more foreign it becomes to you and the less confidence you have."
Baker mentioned some standout pitchers who could hit, including Newcombe, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Rick Wise. Wise is best-known to Cincinnati fans for the 1971 game when, as a Phillie, he no-hit the Reds and also homered twice.
"Guys like that, they were a big part of the offense," Baker said.
Chris Welsh, primary analyst for Reds telecasts on Fox Sports Ohio, pitched five years in the majors in the 1980s. Welsh, who had a .182 career batting average, said the emphasis on pitchers' hitting varies from manager to manager.
"Back in those days, if I told a coach I wanted extra batting practice, he'd tell me to go run," Welsh said. "I think practice hitting now a little bit more than we used to."
Welsh said most pitchers, as hitters, simply are overmatched.
"An optometrist with the White Sox once told me that with the eye test, he could tell the pitchers from the hitters," Welsh said. "The hitters were off the charts with acuity, and the pitchers were half-blind."
In Leake's case, Welsh said his vision is probably still tuned to hitting after recently hitting in college.
Reds right-hander Leake is 7-1 with a 3.45 ERA entering his start today at Houston. Leake also entered the weekend batting .385, tops among major league pitchers with at least 40 plate appearances. Next was Dan Haren of Arizona at .352.
A .385 average would rank No. 6 all-time for a pitcher with at least 40 plate appearances in a single season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"I like to get on base every time," Leake said. "It started in high school. I hated getting out, and I still do."
The best batting averages for pitchers, according to Elias, are .433 by Walter Johnson ( in 1925), .427 by Jack Bentley (1923), .417 by Allen Watson (1995), .396 by Carl Scheib (1951) and .395 by Wes Obermueller (2004).
Don Newcombe holds the Reds season record, .350 in 1958. (Newcombe that year hit .417 for the Dodgers before joining the Reds in mid-June, and hit .350 after joining the Reds. His season average was .361).
Leake is 15-for-39 this year with a double, two RBI and four runs scored. Leake has walked four times and has an on-base percentage of .442. Leake has struck out only nine times, the fewest among Reds starting pitchers.
Leake was a good hitter in high school, batting .431 as a junior and .342 as a senior. Leake hit 18 homers over those two years.
Leake also got to bat some at Arizona State, where he played multiple positions when not pitching. As a sophomore in 2008, Leake hit .340 with two homers and 11 RBI.
The average National League pitcher is batting .151 this year. Most pitchers are relatively poor hitters. American League pitchers usually don't bat all because of the designated hitter rule, but they do bat some in interleague play.
Other Reds starters' averages, among those who have pitched most of this season, include Bronson Arroyo (.190), Johnny Cueto (.156) and Aaron Harang (.152).
Micah Owings, sent to Louisville last week, generally was considered the big bat among recent Reds pitchers. Owings is a career .293 hitter, with nine homers and 34 RBI.
Reds manager Dusty Baker said Leake may be hitting well in part because he still has on his hitting shoes from Arizona State.
"Number one, he thinks he can hit," Baker said. "Number two, he has real good balance and a nice swing. Plus, he's not too far removed from it in college.
"You take a guy three or four years out of college, some of them haven't hit in some time. The longer you're away from hitting, the more foreign it becomes to you and the less confidence you have."
Baker mentioned some standout pitchers who could hit, including Newcombe, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Rick Wise. Wise is best-known to Cincinnati fans for the 1971 game when, as a Phillie, he no-hit the Reds and also homered twice.
"Guys like that, they were a big part of the offense," Baker said.
Chris Welsh, primary analyst for Reds telecasts on Fox Sports Ohio, pitched five years in the majors in the 1980s. Welsh, who had a .182 career batting average, said the emphasis on pitchers' hitting varies from manager to manager.
"Back in those days, if I told a coach I wanted extra batting practice, he'd tell me to go run," Welsh said. "I think practice hitting now a little bit more than we used to."
Welsh said most pitchers, as hitters, simply are overmatched.
"An optometrist with the White Sox once told me that with the eye test, he could tell the pitchers from the hitters," Welsh said. "The hitters were off the charts with acuity, and the pitchers were half-blind."
In Leake's case, Welsh said his vision is probably still tuned to hitting after recently hitting in college.
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07-26-2010, 01:11 AM
Leake had a hard time getting into a really good rhythm but had a pretty good game. gave up 4 runs in 6 innings I believe but did not get a single run in support. It was Leake's second loss of the year and was the first time in six starts that he did not have a quality game (start). Oh and he missed a home run by a few feet left of the foul pole!!!
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2009 and 2010 All "A" State Champions and 2010 Kentucky Sweet 16 State Champions
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07-26-2010, 08:01 AM
He should finish the year with much better numbers than Strasberg, but I bet he comes nowhere near the number of ROY numbers.
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