Barton's streak

by Bambi on Sep 23, 2007 2:28 PM PDT

It’s much too early for this and some of you may accuse me of jinxing him, but look how Barton started his career. Of his first 13 big league games, he got hits for 11 of them, and had walks on the other 2, which means he reached first base in each of his first 13 games. I realize that’s not even close to the record, but I wonder what the record is. How many games would Barton need in order to set this very special rookie record?

Does anyone know if he’ll be resting this offseason? To be truly dangerous he needs to find a way to get some more homeruns, and I don’t know if it’s better for him to build muscle mass this winter or to get some more playing time. With Buck, Swisher, Cust, and Barton it’s nice to finally have solid players in the power hitting positions (we may have 3 or 4 players with an OBP over .400), but we’ll still need something from our CF, SS, and hope that our new Bionic Chavy or 2nd Jack can do the job at 3rd.

Tweet Comment 17 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

He shouldn't be trying to build muscle mass

unless we want to see him injure himself with yet another pulled muscle or tendon or whatever. Instead he should be trying to maintain what he has and work on tone/flexibility. If he comes into came in shape his natural growth will give him the strength he needs to start driving the balls over the wall. Hell, we're already starting to see that over the last series in the PCL playoffs and his call up.

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Sep 23, 2007 2:43 PM PDT reply actions

Don't change a thing.

He's already a big kid. Time will take care of the rest. Keep driving the ball in the gap and let em fall where they fall.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on Sep 23, 2007 3:30 PM PDT reply actions

2 HRs in 13 games

I fail to see the problem. HRs don't just come from muscle mass; they can also come from a good swing, the patience to get into hitters' counts, and the ability to swing at the right pitches. Barton has all that.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 23, 2007 4:16 PM PDT reply actions

Quick math = 25 a year at that rate.

Nothing wrong with that.

Of course, his rate in the minors wasn't the same but I don't see what the infatuation is with having to hit X amount of home runs anyway. I'd much rather see him as a gap threat because he's going to come through that way more often than he'll hit home runs.

He's not the kind of hitter people need to be demanding home runs from. I'd go as far as to say if he WANTED to he could probably hit more, like an Ichiro type.

Bottom of the 9th - Baseball photojournalism by James Venes

by Flashfire on Sep 23, 2007 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions

Exactly--more important is the fact that

the guy has already hit 8 doubles. That gap-to-gap kind of power IS likely to continue. I don't foresee Barton hitting 25 HRs/year anytime soon, but I do foresee him hitting 40+ doubles real soon. I'll take him as is, thank you very much!

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 23, 2007 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions

It's like the problem some people had w/ Kendall.

"He doesn't hit for power!"

That was never part of how he was as a hitter, so why did people complain about the lack of home runs? Most regulars are probably going to get between 10-20 a season. Complaining about a lack of home runs, to me, should only be reserved for sluggers.

Okay, so maybe Kendall's not the best example because of how poorly he hit most of his time here, but when he was a .300+ hitter in Pittsburgh he was often hitting 30 or more doubles over the course of a full season, and he's mostly a singles hitter.

With the way Barton hits, he's going to keep piling up the doubles and it's proven that some of those doubles will eventually turn into homers as players get stronger. He hit 38 doubles in 136 games in the minors this year, good for 6th in the PCL. That's a rate of 45 over a full MLB season (Delwyn Young hit 54 in just 121 games, but part of that is probably due to Cashman field). In the IL only Brandon Moss and Timo Perez had more (41 and 39), so Barton's looking just fine there.

Put it together, and Barton's at 46 doubles over a full minor/major season right now. That's also 10 XBH in his first 13 games and 54 ABs.

Bottom of the 9th - Baseball photojournalism by James Venes

by Flashfire on Sep 23, 2007 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Firstbase is where many teams get their homers

Some stats

I think he'll hit his homers in good time, which may not be until after he's a free agent.

by Bambi on Sep 23, 2007 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions

We should bat him leadoff.

Stat Wonk Futurist

by salb918 on Sep 23, 2007 4:46 PM PDT reply actions

I don't ever want to see that an A's player

is "building muscle mass" or something in the offseason. The last few times that's happened, the results have ranged from disappointing to catastrophic. I don't trust the training staff farther than I can throw them at this point.

Look, Daric Barton is 22. (A young 22, at that.) Most guys his age are in AA. Be patient, and the home runs will come. Both he and Travis Buck have outstanding extra-base-hit numbers; in time, some of those will go for homers instead of doubles.

by PaulThomas on Sep 23, 2007 4:54 PM PDT reply actions

I remember

that we were worried that Suzuki and Buck weren't going to hit many HRs either and both have been fairly good at that despite either being injured most of the time as in Buck's case or being called up midway through the season in Suzuki's case. Add in that this is just their rookie season and I think it's possible both could reach the 20 HR plateau in at most 2 years. I think the same could be said for Barton. Between those three I feel the offensive future is bright once you add Swisher and Cust into the mix. If Chavy can regain some semblance of his former healthy 30 HR self then we'll be in business. I think this team is one good Beane trade away from being back at ALCS caliber.

"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin, Seattle Mariners

by Helloooo 1st on Sep 23, 2007 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, PaulThomas...

if you had more muscle mass, maybe you could throw them farther. Problem solved.

KQED Traffic Guy: "Southbound 880 backed up because of an earlier accident, and well...just because."

by pam5981 on Sep 23, 2007 6:38 PM PDT up reply actions

i don't know what the record is

but kevin youkilis got on base in quite a few games when he first got called up.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Sep 23, 2007 7:42 PM PDT reply actions

The Jewish Greek God of Walks

lasted 10 games, and on his 11th had a game where he didn't reach first.

by Bambi on Sep 23, 2007 11:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Agree with others

No reason for Barton to try and change the player he is.

I think he could be a comparable player to John Olerud. LOTS of doubles, but no more than 20-25 HR. Even without the HR power Olerud still sports a .863 career OPS. Certainly nothing wrong with that. If Barton needs to wear the batting helmet in the field to stay healthy, so be it! Heck give the entire team helmets!

2008 is going to be a fun year.

"...we don't score six, seven runs. We score three, four runs and play defense and pitch" - Eric Chavez

by pickinmachine on Sep 23, 2007 8:03 PM PDT reply actions