New-Found Patience is a Virtue for the San Francisco Giants
In years past, the San Francisco Giants had been known as a free-swinging club. They didn’t get deep into counts, they didn’t make starters work hard, and one-pitch outs seemed to be their specialty. That problem was exacerbated by players like Pablo Sandoval and Hector Sanchez, who never met a pitch they didn’t like.
This year, things are a little different for the Giants. Sandoval’s departure has been a help, as he seemed to take the rest of the team’s “see ball, hit ball” tendencies with him to Boston. Their newly-found patience has become a virtue for the Giants.
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It all starts with the top of the lineup. Nori Aoki and Joe Panik are the catalysts for the offense, and they’ve performed as such this year, creating a very potent one-two punch that has a legitimate chance to be an All-Star duo. The two have shown to be great hitters, but they don’t strictly hit. They work counts, and find other ways to make it to first base. Aoki’s .394 on-base percentage leads the Giants, and Panik’s .384 is second.
Despite drastically different styles, the two players are not all that contrasting. Panik is the more traditional hitter, with a swing you tell little leaguers to watch and take notes of. Aoki is untraditional in his method, hacking away at pitches that seem nearly impossible to make contact with, wielding his bat more like a sword than a tool of the baseball craft.
Despite the differences in how it looks, their approaches are very similar. Both have very keen eyes, taking borderline pitches that could go either way. Each can foul off a ton of pitches, working counts, and tiring the pitcher out for future at-bats. But when they finally do get their pitch to hit, they jump on it, slapping line-drive singles up the middle, or bloopers into left field.
Giants’ players have also been able to stay away from strikeouts as well. They have struck out 404 times this year, eighth-fewest team total in baseball.
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Most notably, Aoki and catcher Buster Posey have been excellent at working counts, while not striking out. Both players have walked more than they’ve struck out this year, making them two of the just eight qualified major leaguers with more free passes than punchouts.
Aoki walks 1.29 times for every strikeout, the third-best mark in baseball, while Posey walks 1.14 times for every strike three. That makes them one of two sets of teammates with a BB/K ratio of more than one. The other pair is the Cleveland Indians’ Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana, who are first and second in the category.
Aoki also owns a major-league best seven percent strikeout rate. Posey is tied for fifth in that category, at 9.3 percent.
The Giants have been so good at making contact this year that only one San Francisco player is in the top 60 in baseball in strikeouts. Brandon Belt is tied for 27th in the Major Leagues with 53 strikeouts, but that also helps contribute to the cause of working pitchers. Belt sees 4.11 pitches per plate appearance, the sixth-highest total in baseball.
The other half of the Dynamic Brandon Duo also sees a lot of pitches. Brandon Crawford has the 31st-highest pitches per plate appearance total, as he sees 3.79. Aoki also slots in the top 50, as his 3.71 total is 41st-highest.
To go along with not striking out, three Giants’ players rank in the top-20 in baseball in contact percentage. Angel Pagan is fourth at 91.7 percent. Aoki sits right behind him in fifth, at 91.5 percent. Panik is 17th, making contact on 88.2 percent of his swings.
The patience hasn’t deterred the Giants’ ability to jump on the first pitch, however. They are still one of the best teams in baseball when attacking the pitch that opens an at-bat. The thinking behind not waiting around is simple. After a long at-bat where a pitcher is forced to throw a lot of pitches, he wants to get back in the strike zone, get ahead, and attack in his own right. The Giants take advantage of that line of thinking.
As a team, the Giants hit .379 on the first pitch, a mark that ranks fifth in the major leagues. They also have 102 first-pitch hits, 17 home runs, and 76 RBI, all totals that lead baseball.
Individually, Posey hits .552 (16-29) when jumping on the initial offering, with five home runs and 14 RBI. Belt is hitting .522 (12-23) with three home runs and 10 RBI on first pitches.
Playing half their games in the pitcher’s paradise that is AT&T Park is not a good thing for the Giants’ offense. They regularly struggle to score runs at home, but on the road, offense is no problem. Patience is a trait that travels well. Whether they’re playing in AT&T Park or Coors Field, the Giants’ ability to take pitches and work counts makes them a dangerous offense.
The Giants may not hit a ton of home runs, but they can generate their own offense by being patient and making contact. So far, it has worked. Time will tell if they can continue on with that apporach.