Walk this way

Yanks' patience at plate paying off

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Tuesday October 20, 1998 07:16 PM

Bernie Williams and the Yankees lead the the Padres in walks 13-6 through two games AP

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Chuck Knoblauch steps in, leading off the bottom of the first inning.

He steps out. He settles back into the batter's box.

Strike called. Strike called. Ball. Ball. Another ball, full count.

No need to rush here, no need to swing at bad pitches.

Foul. Foul.

"If your first at-bat you see a lot of pitches, you probably have seen what he has," Knoblauch said.

Ball four.

"This is something we've done all year," Knoblauch said. "We like to make the pitcher work."

For New Yorkers, they're showing extraordinary patience. These Yankees are taking their sweet time at the plate -- Knoblauch, Chili Davis, Bernie Williams, the whole bunch of them.

And it's paying off -- after leading the AL in walks and the majors in on-base percentage during the regular season, the Yankees' disciplined approach has taken its toll on Padres pitchers, adding up to a 2-0 lead in the World Series going into Game 3 Tuesday night at San Diego.

Eight-time NL batting champion Tony Gwynn can only marvel as he watches the Yankees hitters from out in right field.

"They've been really selective up there and worked the count. It's like facing nine contact hitters," he said.

"You're giving the guy on deck a lot of pitches to see, the guys on the bench. If you're able to succeed at that, you're making your job easier," he said. "The Yankees have done a terrific job at that. Nobody's going up there thinking, 'Swing at anything."'

Though the Yankees did not have anyone ranked in the top 20 in the majors in walks this year, they had eight players draw at least 50.

Overall, the Yankees drew 653 walks to their opponents' 453. In the AL playoffs, New York hitters walked 42 times to the combined total of 20 by Texas and Cleveland. Through two games against the Padres, the Yankees lead in walks, 13-6.

"My hitters have done this all year," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We have run the count and made the pitcher work."

Which does not mean New York hitters do not swing. They just want to wait and wait and wait for the right pitch.

Game 1 against San Diego. Bases loaded, two outs, score 5-5 in the seventh inning.

With the count 2-2, Martinez took a real close pitch from Mark Langston that the Padres thought was strike three. Next pitch, an easy swing and a game-winning grand slam.

"A bunch of us are really disciplined hitters," Martinez said. "We're not there trying to hit home runs. We have short swings. We don't have long swings."

Game 1, second inning. Jorge Posada walked on a 3-2 pitch from Kevin Brown to load the bases and rookie Ricky Ledee ran the count full before hitting a two-out, two-run double in his first World Series at-bat.

Game 2, first inning. Knoblauch fell behind 0-2 to Andy Ashby and still managed to work a walk. He later scored as the Yankees took a 3-0 lead.

The next inning, Williams also fell behind 0-2. A few balls and fouls later, the count was full and he hit the ninth pitch from Ashby over the right-field wall for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead.

"Normally, you get a guy 0-and-2, and you can get him to swing at something that's not a strike," Padres pitching coach Dave Stewart said. "But not them."

"You throw a pitch that is not quite a strike but good enough to swing at and they don't swing at it," Stewart said. "Suddenly the count is 2-2, then 3-2, then you are in trouble."

As evidence, Brown threw 54 pitches in the first three innings. By the seventh, he was tired -- a flu bug and a liner off the left shin also hurt -- and he was gone.

With the Padres ace out, the Yankees broke open the game against the bullpen.

Ashby, meanwhile, threw a whopping 66 pitches in only 2 2-3 innings.

"The Yankees have had some very comfortable at-bats in the first two games," Stewart said. "They're leaning out across the plate. We need to get them moving their feet. We need to get them feeling uncomfortable at the plate."

Any ideas on how to do that?

"Knock a few of them down," he said. "That would be my suggestion."

"I'm saying this in a kidding way," he followed. "I don't think it's right to go out there and hit people. But we do need to get the ball on the inside part of the plate to be successful. If we don't, we're not going to have success."

Related information
Stories
Back home, Padres hope to stop Yankees juggernaut Padres riled up heading into Game 3
Stats
CNN/SI Team Page: San Diego Padres CNN/SI Team Page: New York Yankees 1998 Major League Team Batting Leaders -- Walks
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Message Boards
Get World Serious! How can the Padres get back in the Series against the Yankees? Talk about it on the CNN?SI Baseball Message Board! Join the discussion
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.