New York Mets’ skipper Terry Collins called for right-hander Rafael Montero to walk Bryce Harper in front of Anthony Rendon with a runner on second in last Monday’s matchup in the nation’s capital.
Rendon stepped in with two on and two out, got hold of a 2-0 pitch, and hit a three-run home run to left to put Washington up 6-1 win what ended up an 8-1 Nationals’ win.
Dusty Baker talked to reporters about the decision to walk Harper to get to Rendon after the game, and said he wasn’t really surprised.
“I think they’re going to put [Harper] on whenever they have a chance to, regardless of what he’s doing,” Baker explained.
“So I think it’s better how guys respond behind him, because that was some of the problems earlier in the year when guys weren’t responding like they are now.
“I urged them that you don’t have to always try to hit a home run, which I’ll take, but if they’re putting him on intentionally, most of the time there’s a runner in scoring position and really all you need is a base hit.”
Baker, as he’s mentioned in the past (a few times) got his share of walks when he hit behind one of the all-time great hitters during his playing days.
“Like I said, I hit behind Hank Aaron for a while, a couple years, and he used to tell me: Stay out of double plays and don’t strike out and just hit the ball hard and try to get a single and then they’ll stop walking you, because if every time they walk somebody intentionally, if you just get a base hit, that negates the strategy of walking the guy in front of you in the first place.”
In the series opener last night in Atlanta, the Braves walked Harper unintentionally with two on and one out in the first, loading the bases in front of Rendon, who hit a two-run single to put the Nationals up 2-0 early.
Harper ended the night 0 for 3 with two walks, with 105 walks and 104 Ks total in 136 games and 584 plate appearances this season.
Baker once again said he’s not surprised that opposing teams keep walking Harper, in spite of the fact that he’s struggled at the plate this season and isn’t putting up MVP-like numbers this summer.
“It doesn’t really shock me,” Baker said.
“All he can do is keep hitting. If he keeps hitting, they’ll probably still walk him, but we’re receiving the fruits of them walking Bryce, because Anthony, he’s creeping on 80 RBIs, which is outstanding for a guy that only had one, I think, in April.
“So he’s getting some big hits for us and what you need, you don’t need the home runs, which we’ll take, what you need is some singles and doubles and when they walk Bryce that means somebody is usually in scoring position so, hey, that’s all you’ve got to do.”
Rendon’s 2 for 3 game against the Braves left him with a .277/.355/.460 line on the season.
His 37 doubles lead all NL third basemen, and he’s ranked 3rd in runs (84), 4th in walks (61), 5th in OBP and sixth in SLG amongst all National League hot-corner infielders on the season.