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Joe Panik’s Spring Struggles Are No Reason to Panic

By Maggie Pilloton

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Don’t panic, San Francisco Giants fans. Joe Panik will be just fine.

Even though the Giants’ young second baseman is hitting just .160 so far in Spring Training, Panik and the Giants aren’t concerned about his slow start. Panik spoke with Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group about why he’s not worried:

"“It’s such a small sample size,” Panik said. “You’ve got 600 at-bats during the season, and that’s when things even themselves out.”…“I’ve just got to trust the process,” he said. “Obviously as a competitor, you want to get hits. You want to produce. But you’re here to get physically and mentally ready for opening day. … I know what kind of hitter I am. So I’m not the least bit concerned.”"

Panik also spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about why he’s not concerned:

"“They know what I can do. I know what I can do,” Panik said. “The past couple of weeks I’ve had my good games and bad games. It’s just a matter of finding consistency in everything.”…“Even last year, when I wasn’t playing every day, the results weren’t there,” Panik said. “Once I start playing every day, playing 10 days in a row, you get more consistency. I’m a rhythm hitter. It’s just finding that rhythm.”"

Panik is right to not panic. A string of Spring Training games is such a small sample size that it’s impossible to come to any conclusions about Panik’s hitting as of now and how that could potentially translate into his regular season production.

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In addition, Spring Training results and statistics mean absolutely nothing. There is no correlation between a team’s or a player’s success in Spring Training and their production during the regular season. Just because Panik is hitting .160 right now doesn’t mean that he will hit .160 when the season starts. It doesn’t mean he’ll hit .350 either. The statistic simply doesn’t suggest anything about the future.

If there is still a shred of concern in the minds of fans, there is still a week left in Spring Training, so if Panik is truly struggling to find his swing or to get into an offensive rhythm, then he still has time to fix whatever needs to be fixed or work on whatever needs improvement.

Bochy also brought up a good point when speaking to Baggarly about Panik:

"“His first big league camp as the starting second baseman … there’s no reason for this to be prolonged,” Bochy said. “You keep working.”"

This is Panik’s first spring as the everyday second baseman for the Giants. There’s no doubt that he will be the starting second baseman, unlike last spring when he had to prove himself. He didn’t start the season on the Giants’ 25-man roster, and even after being called up in June, Panik wasn’t guaranteed the starting job for the rest of the season.

Brian Sabean believed that Panik wasn’t quite Major League ready when he was first called up, which was evident since he hit .200 through his first 25 games. Panik went on to hit .305 for the season, and he’s solidified himself as the Giants’ starting second baseman and number two hitter.

As Panik did when he was first called up to the Giants last season, he will continue to make adjustments in the last week of Spring Training.

Giants fans should not be concerned about Panik’s spring struggles. Yes, his name might suggest it’s time to panic, but it truly is not.

Next: Giants Mailbag: Bullpen, Panik, Kontos/Machi

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