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Two-strike hitters. (Spotlight).
Patience and savvy are key elements in the makeup of a great two-strike hitter.
1. Jose Vidro, 2B, Expos
The more a pitcher throws, the more he gets tired, the sooner a team can pounce on him. That's why it's important for hitters to not just hack away when they have two strikes. A poor two-strike hitter jumps at anything anywhere near the strike zone, rarely making a pitcher work or throw more pitches. Vidro isn't like that. In the last two years, he has gotten more patient at the plate.
That patience has led to more full-count at-bats, which is when Vidro does serious damage. He's known as an aggressive first-pitch hitter, but as good as he is at that (.408, three doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs), he's even better with a full count (.444, three doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs, .600 on-base percentage). The other underheralded Expos position player, Vidro is an excellent contact hitter who smacks line drives to all fields. Video protects the plate with a line-drive swing that sends the ball to all fields. He also has a growing reputation as a clutch hitter.
2. Gary Sheffield, RF, Braves A keen eye and the discipline to wait for the right pitch combined with a vicious swing make Sheffield one of the most feared hitters in the game. His hands explode through the strike zone and the ferocity diminishes only slightly when there are two strikes. Few in the game hit the ball as hard as he does. Sheffield's 0-2 average (.375) is better than his overall average (.328).
3. Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies Helton is a smart hitter with as pure a lefthanded stroke as there is in the game. There's great debate among baseball insiders about how good he'd be away from Coors Field, but his numbers with two strikes suggest he knows how to hit in tough situations. He rarely reaches ...
- `TRUE' STRIKE ZONE THING OF THE PAST.(Sports)
- Newspaper article from: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) March 10, 1996 700+ words
...a matter of record that the official strike zone has been altered for the 1996 season...its application. Specifically, the strike zone has been lowered. It has been extended...but we'll see.'' The current strike zone is a curious thing. Accompanying the...
- Clearing Up the Confusion over the Strike Zone.(baseball)
- Magazine article from: Baseball Digest ARMSTRONG, JIM November 1, 2000 700+ words
...controversial issues THIS IS A STORY ABOUT THE STRIKE zone. See, there you go already. Just...borderline call, or Tom Glavine, whose strike zone has been known to resemble Tennessee...You quit trying to figure out the strike zone a long time ago. You don't understand...
- Will Newly Mandated Strike Zone Survive or Fall By the Wayside?(interview with...
- Magazine article from: Baseball Digest KUENSTER, JOHN April 1, 2001 700+ words
...was talking about the newly mandated strike zone that was scheduled to go into effect...said Froemming, "but I know the strike zone this year is going to be higher, and...to identify and get used to the new strike zone area." Froemming was among umpiring...
- Mixed reviews for revised strike zone.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Salisbury, Jim May 10, 2001 700+ words
...baseball's attempts to standardize the strike zone by having umpires enforce it the way...reason for requiring umpires to call the strike zone by the book was to eliminate inconsistencies...it was imperative to have a uniform strike zone. A by-product of baseball's mandate...
- New strike zone should be a lesson.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Martinez, Michael March 31, 2001 700+ words
...lockout. But it's significant. The strike zone is the instrument of measurement for...Now, after years of watching the strike zone shrink to the size of a laptop computer...higher, tighter strikes, enlarging the strike zone as it was originally intended and forcing...
- STRIKE ZONE HAS BECOME BASEBALL'S TWILIGHT ZONE.(SPORTS)
- Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot June 8, 1997 700+ words
...The answer: major league baseball's strike zone. Three-and-a-half-hour games...of the TV. Attribute them all to the strike zone, which is less obvious than a tax man...existence - if only barely - of a dwarfish strike zone. The other night, as an 8 1/2...
- A hollow solution: The enlarged strike zone might speed up games, but first the...
- Magazine article from: Sporting News Marantz, Steve April 1, 1996 700+ words
...baseball's weird experiment with the strike zone is doomed to meaninglessness. Umpires...substitutions -- were responsible. The strike zone variable could be discounted because...offense are implicit in an enlarged strike zone. Hitters would have to be less selective...
- Baseball needs to fix the strike zone.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Posnanski, Joe January 19, 2001 700+ words
...umpires to start calling the rule-book strike zone. Nobody knows why umpires stopped calling...a little lower. Until finally, the strike zone was gone. Missing. Milk carton. Some...was always this: Start calling the strike zone again. "If you call the high strike...