Strikeouts: it's what my Twins are doing today, at the bat and, figuratively, in the field. The light closing down on them on a brilliant October day.
I know, from watching so much televised baseball, and listening to games on the radio, that the announcers love to talk about how players today strike out so much. As my wife would tell you, the play-by-play guy and his sidekicks have a lot of time to fill between pitches, when "nothing's happening," but I'm pretty sure they're onto something about all the strikeouts. This is the first season that Joe Mauer has struck out more than 100 times, but Babe Ruth never did. Though the Babe struck out more than any American League batter five times, his highest number was 93. And here's one for you: in 1941, the year he hit safely in 56 consecutive games, Joe DiMaggio struck out 13 times all season. There's different ways of expressing the amazingness of that. He struck out once out of every 48 plate appearances. He struck out twice a month. It's not as if he was choking up and slapping grounders behind base runners to advance them. He hit 30 homers and had 125 RBI. Everyone says DiMaggio's batting streak is a record that will never be broken, the most amazing feat in baseball history. I guess I'd agree with that, but I'm not sure that just 13 strikeouts isn't even more amazing. Of course, there's a connection between the two. Strikeouts don't roll between diving infielders, or drop to the ground in that triangle where neither the second baseman nor the first baseman nor the rightfielder can reach. The longest batting streak in the majors this season has been a paltry 21. To a considerable extent, it's probably because you can't get "lucky" when striking out.
It's the ninth inning and suddenly the Twins have the bases loaded, tying run at the bat. Vargas. Strike out! Two outs. Now Escobar. Strike out!
Comments