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In Praise of Dave Roberts

There's a lot not to like about Dave Roberts: lack of punch, inability to hit southpaws, and the frequent jaunts to the DL.

Still, the one thing that I've really begun to admire about him was the fact that he so often has amazing, drawn out at-bats, constantly fighting pitches off, and very seldom swinging at poor offerings out of the strike zone. He's the anti-hacktastic, disciplined opposite to the rest of the freeswingers in residence.

In fact, he would rank in the top 20 in all MLB in P/PA if he had enough ABs to qualify. To put that in perspective, no other Giant player can even sniff the top 40.

What does this all mean? Well, it builds up a pitcher's pitch count, for one. It lets the rest of the Giants hitters get a sampling of the opposing pitcher's stuff. Mostly, though, it means that he'll see many, many more pitches over the course of the season, which ultimately means seeing many more mistake pitches which he can then hit hard. That's certainly a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the lineup.

So here's to Dave Roberts, one of two Giants players whose at bats are actually fun to watch.

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

0 recs  |  Comment 8 comments

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Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
I don't know the definition of "can't even sniff," but Durham's 3.94 puts him only one hundredth of a pitch out of the top 40.
Fool me seven times, shame on you. Fool me eight or more times, shame on me.

by Bhaakon on Jun 16, 2007 5:02 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
Hm, you're right, obviously. For some reason I didn't see that.

I still maintain that Roberts is pleasantly surprising to watch, however.

by Steve on Jun 16, 2007 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
Durham has a deviated septum; he can almost touch the top 40, but he can't sniff it.
Your 2012 NL ERA champion: Sergio Romo

by Lyle on Jun 16, 2007 7:27 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
I take it the other player that's fun to watch at bat is Noah Lowhry?

cuz Bonds is shit.

Aaron, always number #1 in my book.

by jtoj on Jun 16, 2007 5:03 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
I've had fun watching Feliz bat, but that's mostly because of a drinking game in which I take a shot each time he swings at a pitch out for the zone.
Fool me seven times, shame on you. Fool me eight or more times, shame on me.

by Bhaakon on Jun 16, 2007 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
you might want to check in to a hospital, you may have alcohol poisoning.
In Soviet Russia, save blows Benitez!

by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Jun 16, 2007 6:27 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Roberts is easy to root for
A good player and better person. Go Dave go.

by wilriv21 on Jun 16, 2007 7:24 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: In Praise of Dave Roberts
Not only are his ABs astute, professional, competitive, but so is he when he gets on base.  I love the way he diverts the pitchers attention, gets throw overs, bluffs, and generally is a pain in the ass the the other side.  A real baseball player.

by allfrank on Jun 16, 2007 9:42 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

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