Remember this from about a year ago? In 2010, Phillies pitchers overall combined to walk 416 batters for the year. That was the fewest number of walks issued by an NL team since the 1995 Mets walked 401.
We can now add 2011 to the list and again the Phillies have walked the fewest hitters of any NL team. Here’s the NL team that has issued the fewest walks overall since 1995 (the last time any NL team walked fewer hitters than the Phillies did in 2010 or 2011):
| Year | Team | Walks |
| 2011 | PHI | 404 |
| 2010 | PHI | 416 |
| 2009 | STL | 460 |
| 2008 | ARI | 451 |
| 2007 | SD | 474 |
| 2006 | CIN | 464 |
| 2005 | HOU | 440 |
| 2004 | SD | 422 |
| 2003 | MON | 463 |
| 2002 | ARI | 421 |
| 2001 | NYM | 438 |
| 2000 | ATL | 484 |
| 1999 | HOU | 478 |
| 1998 | HOU | 465 |
| 1997 | ATL | 450 |
| 1996 | ATL | 451 |
| 1995 | NYM | 401 |
I have mixed feelings about the Phils cutting down their walk rate even further, cause if they knock or four more walks in 2012 I’m probably going to have to look more stuff up.
It was pretty much a three-man show for the Phils in terms of preventing walks in 2011. As I mentioned in a recent post, Halladay, Lee and Hamels all pitched a ton of innings and excelled at preventing walks. Here’s a look at the walks per nine innings rate for Halladay, Lee and Hamels as a group compared to the rest of the team for 2011:
| Innings | Walks | BB per 9 | |
| Halladay, Lee and Hamels | 682 1/3 | 121 | 1.60 |
| Rest of the team | 794 2/3 | 283 | 3.21 |
So that trio walked less than half the hitters per nine innings that the rest of the team did. They also threw a tremendous number of innings, 46.2% of the total innings thrown by the team.
Hamels had the worst walk rate of the group of Halladay, Lee and Hamels at 1.83 walks per nine. No pitcher on the team in 2011 when threw at least 45 innings had a walk rate under two — Blanton threw 41 1/3 innings with a walk rate of 1.96 per nine frames and Joe Savery and Wilson Valdez combined not to walk a hitter over 3 1/3 innings. Among the guys who had at least 50 innings pitched in 2011, Oswalt was the pitcher other than the big three with the best walk rate — he allowed 2.14 walks per nine.
The Phils beat the Yankees 9-3 yesterday and are 1-2 in official action so far in Spring Training.
Blanton got the start and allowed two singles in two scoreless innings. Scott Elarton followed Blanton and went two frames as well, setting down all six men he faced. Austin Hyatt was charged with two runs over two innings. Brian Sanches pitched the seventh and was charged with a run on four singles before Herndon went two scoreless frames.
Domonic Brown continued his reign of butchery in the outfield, misplaying then diving at and missing a ball hit by Brett Gardner in the sixth inning that was called a triple. Kevin Frandsen threw the relay away on the same play for an error, allowing Gardner to score.
Still real early, but Brown has already looked terrible in the outfield.
Martinez hit a two-run homer for the Phils in his only at-bat. Rollins was 2-for-2 and stole two bases. Hector Luna was 1-for-2 with a three-run double, which comes after a home run in the game against Florida State. He seems like a tough guy for the Phillies to carry if he can’t play short. Polanco started at third and went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
The Phils play the Blue Jays this afternoon. Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick are expected to pitch.
Charlie Manuel suggests it’s going to be a while before Utley plays in this article.
March 6th, 2012 on 10:33 am
That walk rate of the big 3 really is quite impressive when compared to the rest of the team.
I’ve been a quiet Brown supporter but he really is not helping his cause. With his miscues being magnified right now, he just cannot afford to keep making them.
Lee today! My only question on him is he was kept at bay again for an abdominal issue again. Sorry I dont have a link to back that up but I remember reading it somewhere. He must really hate spring training!
March 6th, 2012 on 11:35 am
Sixth inning yesterday. Dom Brown turns in another one of his patented mistakes. He has not learned to play left. One wonders how that can be.
March 6th, 2012 on 12:06 pm
It’s amazing that we’ve only played three real games of Spring Training and already Brown has put a huge exclamation point on the fact that he can’t play defense. Left field isn’t usually a place where you get a whole lot of drama with guys just dropping fly balls and running the wrong direction after balls in the gap. He sure hasn’t looked ready in the first couple of games, and I agree that’s a big problem given that learning to play defense needed to be at the top of his to-do list in the off-season.
It seems like there’s only two possibilities — either he spent a lot of time working on defense in the off-season or he didn’t. Whichever is the answer, the early results are terrifying.
I will be interested to see what Lee does as well. He did have an issue that sidelined him briefly, but I think it’s hard to know if that was just people being especially careful in the early going of Spring Training. I really don’t think the Phils would let him pitch if he was in danger of hurting himself significantly, so I’m seeing that as a good sign.
Let’s hope so.
March 6th, 2012 on 1:12 pm
I agree. Lee is going to bear watching today. His abdominal issue may be little. But for a team with all of the sports hernias it has recently had, I would love to be reassured that his abdominal issue actually IS little.
Also interesting is the chpoice of players the Phillies put on their season tickets and the long envelope it is shipped in.
On the envelope, left to right: Pence, Halliday, Mayberry (yup, Big John appears for the first time), Hamels, Victorino, Rollins, Thome.
On the tickets: Lee, Howard, Chooch, Utley, and, you goit it, Halliday again.
March 6th, 2012 on 2:49 pm
Yeah, I’d definitely try to work Halladay in there now and again. Nice to see Thome and Mayberry make the cut as well.
Results were good enough for Lee today. He went two scoreless innings, allowing a walk, a single and a double. Got Jose Bautista to ground into a double-play to end the first and got a strikeout in the second.
March 6th, 2012 on 3:08 pm
Here’s hoping they don’t walk four less guys this year. Wouldn’t want you to have to do any more research.
I really thought that Brown wouldn’t be so brutal in the outfield to this point. I have a fear that it will just snowball on him and he will lose all confidence out there, which will then hurt his batting. I was with you that he should start the season on the big club, but if you can’t play him in the field then he needs to learn in Lehigh Valley.
March 6th, 2012 on 4:34 pm
I totally agree. Not only was I hoping for Brown to fight his way onto the team with a good Spring Training, I really thought there was a good chance it could happen.
He totally looks like you can’t use him in the field. That’s a problem. Hopefully it’s just two games and it’s not as big a deal as it looks. I’m less worried about his confidence and more worried about him being a 24 1/2-year-old outfielder who can’t play the outfield. I agree that it could snowball on him if it gets worse, but I think it’s already pretty bad.
Again, really just two bad plays so maybe it’s not that big a deal. He’s kind of put himself under the microscope at this point, though.
March 6th, 2012 on 4:41 pm
Also, I forgot to add this to my rant. Better late than never:
I’m just pleading here, but if someone on the Phillies could suggest to Brown that he never, ever dive for the ball at this point I think it would be a good place to start. Let’s not even focus on catching the ball yet, let’s just start with not diving wildly and missing it. Just let it roll and then walk over and pick it up. It would at least save us some bases. Diving can be like stage eight or something, after that’s down pat.
March 6th, 2012 on 8:39 pm
It seems to me that the Phillies need future guys to play the infield more than they do the outfield. Outfield guys just seem more available, somehow.
Soooooooooooooooo.. question. Would it make sense to trade Dom Brown for an infield prospect (3rd or 2nd, maybe?) of equivalent promise?
March 6th, 2012 on 8:39 pm
Or at the catcher position?
March 7th, 2012 on 9:18 am
Okay with me if they get real Domonic Brown value for him. I think they’re going to need some OF, too. Last year for Victorino. Mayberry is a huge unknown that might spend a whole lot of time at first base rather than the OF. Nix clearly isn’t a long-term solution and can’t play against lefties.