USA TODAY International Edition
Contact man Betts seeks history with Red Sox
In the seventh inning Tuesday night, Boston Red Sox All- Star Mookie Betts lashed a hanging breaking ball from Toronto Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith into the second deck at Rogers Centre, his first home run of a season that might again conclude with Betts finishing near the top of American League MVP voting.
What Betts did an inning later seemed far less remarkable — but was perhaps more impressive.
Betts fell into a two- strike hole against Danny Barnes, and, at that point, there was about a 50% chance he’d strike out. But he did not strike out, because, these days, Betts never strikes out.
His final at- bat ended in a foulout to the catcher. But it also extended a remarkable streak that stretches to last season: 128 plate appearances without a strikeout.
Betts has not struck out since the Baltimore Orioles’ Oliver Drake fanned him in a game Sept. 12. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Betts’ K- less streak is the longest since Juan Pierre’s 147 in 2004.
That Betts still has a goose egg in the strikeout column 50 plate appearances into this season is all the more remarkable given the “grip it and rip it” era he plays in. The average American League batter is on pace to strike out 129 times this season over 600 plate appearances.
In 2016, the league average figure was 124 strikeouts per 600 plate appearances, with Orioles slugger Chris Davis leading the way with 219 Ks. Davis also hit 38 home runs, a decent illustration of the modern player who seemingly sells out for power, strikeouts be damned.
That makes Betts’ bat control all the more remarkable. He struck out 80 times in 730 plate appearances in 2016 — his 11% rate ranking seventh in the AL — yet hit 31 home runs and got on base at a .363 clip. He finished second to Mike Trout in AL MVP voting.
The only players joining Betts in the top 20 of AL home runs and top 10 of strikeout percentage in 2016 are almost certainly future Hall of Famers. Los Angeles Angels DH Albert Pujols struck out just 11.5% of the time ( 75 in 650 plate appearances) and equaled Betts’ 31 home runs. And Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre fanned at a rate of 10.3% ( 66 in 640 plate appearances) and hit 32 home runs.
Those are tough numbers to come by in any era. Consider Pierre, for instance. In that 2004 season, he struck out 35 times in 748 plate appearances. But he also hit just three home runs and had a .407 slugging percentage, compared with Betts’ .534 slugging percentage in 2016.
Betts, 24, conceivably will develop more power. His aptitude for the strike zone, already high, also figures to get better, given he doesn’t yet have 2,000 major league plate appearances.
For now, he and the Red Sox will enjoy this valuable and increasingly rare combination of power and plate discipline.
And he’ll continue a pursuit that has received scant attention but might pick up steam as Betts continues to put bat on ball.
Dave Cash of the Philadelphia Phillies went 223 plate appearances without a strikeout in 1976. According to Elias, that’s the longest streak in the expansion ( 1961 and later) era.
Betts could be closing in on that mark by mid- May, a chase that might not generate the 24- 7 coverage a good old- fashioned home run battle might. And Betts isn’t quite Babe Ruth, whose 60 home runs in 1927 were five more than the average team in the AL produced that season.
But at this point, Betts, who stands 5- 9, remains Ruthian in his own art: putting the ball in play. And, every so often, putting it over the fence, too.