San Diego Padres Hitters Showing Great Patience to Start Season

Despite being an eager bunch of young guys, the San Diego Padres hitters showed extreme patience at the plate over the weekend.

Maybe it was a concerted effort by the San Diego Padres to work up the pitch count of starters early in the season when you knew they wouldn’t be in the game long, but it was nice to see them work counts and get on base.

The San Diego Padres as a team racked up an incredible 23 walks over the weekend in just three games.

Along with the 21 hits they accumulated, that helped give them the second-highest on-base percentage in all of baseball.

And keep in mind they were going up against some pretty good starting pitchers in Madison Bumgarner, Robbie Ray, and Zac Gallen.

It wasn’t just one guy for the Padres working counts and getting on base via the walk. They had three players walk four times over the weekend and two more walk three times each.

Now, there is a negative side to working counts and going for the walk. The Padres also struck out 32 times in three games and have the fifth most strikeouts in baseball.

But still, I love the team effort to work counts, swing at good pitches, and take your walks when you get them. I’m all for getting more players on base, and if the Padres end the season with a top-five OBP in the league, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape.

Something that always bugs me when I watch teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox is that they always seem to work counts and lay off pitches just outside the zone.

And while it’s frustrating to watch, it’s highly effective and why those teams are so good on offense — and why they play four-hour games.

We’ll have to see if this is a team philosophy for the San Diego Padres that continues or it was just a coincidence in the first series of the year.