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By Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel
6:36 PM EDT, April 29, 2010
How good an April did Dan Uggla have? He's 2 for his last 15 and still is enjoying the best opening month of his career by far.
Friday, Uggla closes out April against the Nationals batting .298 (25 for 84) with five homers, 14 RBI and a .910 on-base plus slugging percentage. He's never logged better than a .255 April average and two out of the past three years he was below .220.
"To get off to a better start than I have in years past, I can't say it means anything because it's a long season, but it's definitely been more fun than past Aprils," Uggla said. "It's a lot easier to sleep at night. When you dig yourself a hole like I've done many times, you just have to remember it's a long year and you're going to get out of it. It just takes a little time."
Since his 2006 rookie season, Uggla has increased his walk total every year. He's nowhere near the pace he needs to match the career-best 92 he amassed in 2009, but Uggla isn't striking out at his usual clip either. At his current pace, Uggla will finish with a career-low 117 strikeouts and 58 walks.
Uggla's April numbers are a product of no longer being an automatic strikeout when the pitchers get ahead. Entering the season, Uggla had a lifetime .169 average with two strikes. So far in 2010 he owns the National League's sixth-best average with two strikes at .341 (15 for 44), including a combined .394 mark (13 for 33) on 2-2 and 3-2 counts.
"That's the hitter I've always wanted to be and thought of myself as, a guy that's going to have somewhere near 100 walks and somewhere near 100 strikeouts," Uggla said. "Did I ever think of myself as a guy that's going to strike out 150 times a year three years in row? No I never thought I was going to be that guy. The pitching is unbelievable up here. Like anything, you have to make adjustments and sometimes adjustments take time."
The other component of fewer strikeouts for Uggla is putting the bat on the ball more often. According to Baseball Info Solutions, a career-best 45 percent of Uggla's swings are producing balls in play. He's swung and missed a career-low 22 percent, down 3 percent from 2009 and 7 percent from 2008.
When Uggla makes contact good things generally happen. His .313 batting average on balls in play is the second-highest of his career and 39 points higher than last season.
"That plays a part too because the more balls you put in play the more chance you have of getting a hit," Uggla said. "I've had some broken bat singles. I've had a lot of luck this April, balls finding some holes."
Luck is part of the equation, but of greater significance is Uggla's maturation as a hitter.
"Pitch recognition, just trying to pick up the ball as early as I can, be tougher and more disciplined with two strikes," Uggla said. "Sometimes you're going to have to put the borderline pitch in play or foul it off. In the past, I'd be taking borderline pitches and getting rung up on them or chasing balls two feet out of the zone. I guess I'm doing a better job laying off those sliders in the dirt and putting the borderline pitches in play."
Juan C. Rodriguez can be reached at jcrodriguez@SunSentinel.com
6:36 PM EDT, April 29, 2010
How good an April did Dan Uggla have? He's 2 for his last 15 and still is enjoying the best opening month of his career by far.
Friday, Uggla closes out April against the Nationals batting .298 (25 for 84) with five homers, 14 RBI and a .910 on-base plus slugging percentage. He's never logged better than a .255 April average and two out of the past three years he was below .220.
"To get off to a better start than I have in years past, I can't say it means anything because it's a long season, but it's definitely been more fun than past Aprils," Uggla said. "It's a lot easier to sleep at night. When you dig yourself a hole like I've done many times, you just have to remember it's a long year and you're going to get out of it. It just takes a little time."
Since his 2006 rookie season, Uggla has increased his walk total every year. He's nowhere near the pace he needs to match the career-best 92 he amassed in 2009, but Uggla isn't striking out at his usual clip either. At his current pace, Uggla will finish with a career-low 117 strikeouts and 58 walks.
Uggla's April numbers are a product of no longer being an automatic strikeout when the pitchers get ahead. Entering the season, Uggla had a lifetime .169 average with two strikes. So far in 2010 he owns the National League's sixth-best average with two strikes at .341 (15 for 44), including a combined .394 mark (13 for 33) on 2-2 and 3-2 counts.
"That's the hitter I've always wanted to be and thought of myself as, a guy that's going to have somewhere near 100 walks and somewhere near 100 strikeouts," Uggla said. "Did I ever think of myself as a guy that's going to strike out 150 times a year three years in row? No I never thought I was going to be that guy. The pitching is unbelievable up here. Like anything, you have to make adjustments and sometimes adjustments take time."
The other component of fewer strikeouts for Uggla is putting the bat on the ball more often. According to Baseball Info Solutions, a career-best 45 percent of Uggla's swings are producing balls in play. He's swung and missed a career-low 22 percent, down 3 percent from 2009 and 7 percent from 2008.
When Uggla makes contact good things generally happen. His .313 batting average on balls in play is the second-highest of his career and 39 points higher than last season.
"That plays a part too because the more balls you put in play the more chance you have of getting a hit," Uggla said. "I've had some broken bat singles. I've had a lot of luck this April, balls finding some holes."
Luck is part of the equation, but of greater significance is Uggla's maturation as a hitter.
"Pitch recognition, just trying to pick up the ball as early as I can, be tougher and more disciplined with two strikes," Uggla said. "Sometimes you're going to have to put the borderline pitch in play or foul it off. In the past, I'd be taking borderline pitches and getting rung up on them or chasing balls two feet out of the zone. I guess I'm doing a better job laying off those sliders in the dirt and putting the borderline pitches in play."
Juan C. Rodriguez can be reached at jcrodriguez@SunSentinel.com