There’s nothing wrong with the occasional bit of optimism, even if it’s unfounded and misguided, is there? With AHill becoming the new god of walks I went back and checked out 2009 spring training results for some of the regulars. Scream out about sample size and fake games. Knock yourself out. This stat check shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Players Used:
Comparison player criteria:
- Be current members of the Toronto Blue Jays
- Been on the roster during 2009 spring training
- Had more than 20 AB in both 2009 Spring Training and April 09
| Aaron Hill | G | AB | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | TB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Spring 2009 | 23 | 60 | 6 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 0.283 | 0.358 | 0.533 |
| April – 2009 | 24 | 104 | 17 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 0.365 | 0.412 | 0.567 |
| Vernon Wells | |||||||||||||
| Spring 2009 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 0.300 | 0.364 | 0.367 |
| April – 2009 | 24 | 99 | 19 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 46 | 0.283 | 0.345 | 0.465 |
| Adam Lind | |||||||||||||
| Spring 2009 | 25 | 68 | 5 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 0.309 | 0.368 | 0.441 |
| April – 2009 | 23 | 92 | 15 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 13 | 23 | 49 | 0.315 | 0.400 | 0.533 |
| Jose Bautista | |||||||||||||
| Spring 2009 | 19 | 41 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 0.366 | 0.422 | 0.439 |
| April – 2009 | 14 | 41 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 0.317 | 0.404 | 0.463 |
| Travis Snider | |||||||||||||
| Spring 2009 | 22 | 63 | 11 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 44 | 0.381 | 0.400 | 0.698 |
| April – 2009 | 20 | 62 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 30 | 0.258 | 0.324 | 0.484 |
Three out of four (exception being Snider) on the list posted better stats during the ‘real games’ in April. And to be fair I’m not going to rag on Snider’s .800+ April OPS. Not too shaby when considering everyone on the list had a good spring.
Once again, this probably doesn’t prove a thing but it does give some hope for a questionable 2010. Go ahead AHill, post your 200+ walks.
