New Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jeff Keppinger subscribes to the brain theory, which is a reason he is one of the hardest guys to strike out in the history of baseball.
“He never wastes an at-bat,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
Last season, Keppinger was the National League’s toughest hitter to strike out. He fanned only 24 times in 400 at-bats with the Houston Asros and the San Francisco Giants. The 31-year-old might sound a little baffled at his success, but he attributes it more to his mental approach than his physical skills. He is hitting .351 this spring and has struck out only once.
...Keppinger said athleticism helps, but it’s the mental approach and mind that determines whether ball and bat make contact. And that moment when ball meets bat lasts only 1/1000th of a second, according to Adair.
“If you hit the ball you can’t strike out, right?” Keppinger jokes. “I just try not to do too much. Instead of trying to drive the ball all the time, I try to put it in play. Early in the count when most guys are trying to drive the ball, I try to make contact.
“Certain pitchers that are strikeout pitchers are strikeout pitchers for a reason. You’ve got to start off trying to touch them a little and see what happens from there. It’s an approach I’ve always stuck with.”
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1. Rants Mulliniks (formerly Cold Prosimian) Posted: March 26, 2012 at 08:05 AM (#4089195)Pretty hyperbolic for a guy who would be 317th on the all-time list if he had enough ABs to qualify. For comparison, this would be like saying Terry Pendleton had one of the leading hit totals in MLB history.
well, I don't think calling Roger Connor "one of the best home run hitters in the history of baseball" is a stretch. It's all relative, and Keppinger is one of the hardest to strike out in this generation. One could define 'history of baseball' with a list of such guys thru the years.
Very few players ahead of him are of recent vintage. Only one is active (Juan Pierre). Only 16 have played since 1980. Hyperbolic, sure. But he is one of the best recent players. And given that he plays in (by far) the highest strikeout era in history, that may qualify him as one of the hardest ever.
In the contemporary game, Keppinger's really only behind Juan Pierre. Placido Polanco is close, in quite a few more PA.
(Play-Index search for low strikeout rates post 1994)
I feel like this sentence has rarely been used for good.
Almost as bad as watching him hit!
Pirates organization knows how to produce guys who make contact.
Jeff Keppinger: Providing Veteran Leadership (tm) since age 18.
I think therefore I am.
Supposedly Brandon Phillips was visiting Georgia and told the coach he wanted to be the starting shortstop. The coach said something to the effect that he'd have to wait for Jeff Keppinger to leave. Phillips went straight to the draft out of HS so I have no idea if he was seriously thinking about college, but he grew up in Stone Mountain and was a big fan of UGA.
Phillips and Keppinger ended up being teammates on the '07-'08 Reds. Keppinger looked really good in that first season, spraying line drives all over the field (123 OPS+; 2 WAR in 67 games). IIRC he had knee surgery that offseason and didn't hit well at all coming out of the gate.
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