Jack Wilson has hit .308 the last 21 days, but his OBP for that stretch is only .316. One walk in 78 at-bats. A .316 OBP is not good enough for the top of the order. I don't care what the batting average is.
Earlier other writers jumped on Wilson for having few walks while he was hitting .360 and higher. I said wait until his OBP falls below .340. The hope is that walks will replace hits when a batter goes through a stretch where he doesn't see many pitches he can hit hard. Wilson's batting average is falling and his walk total is falling with it.
Slow down, Jack, be patient. A .308 BA is pretty empty if it only amounts to a .316 OBP. In our wildest fantasy, Wilson manages a .340 OBP on the season. We'll take a .340 BA with no walks over a .300 BA with some walks or a .280 BA with many walks, but .300 with no walks maintain that modest goal of .340 OBP. There's little chance Wilson will ever be a high-walks guy since he lacks the power to draw the IBB numbers of guys like Pujols, Rolen, and Brian Giles.
For the record, Jack's hitting .343 with a .357 OBP on the season. On the whole, he's wildly exceeding expectations on the season. There's no great cause for alarm. He's cooling off and in a little slump, that's all. Let's not start calling him Marlon Byrd. His defense remains spectacular. He's a big asset for the club.
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