Peter Bourjos made an out Tuesday. Twice. So he’s human after all.
Equally impressive to his 1.000 on-base percentage coming into the game, three of his five times on base came as a result of walks. Bourjos’ .301 OBP in his first three seasons leaves something to be desired for a player with his speed. The Angels want Bourjos on the bases as much as possible.
“I think walks are just a function of good plate discipline as a player develops,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “A pitcher has to cooperate when you’re drawing a walk. You can’t just go up there and take pitches where all of a sudden you’re drawing a walk. There’s a balance of having that aggressiveness, ready to hit with an understanding of the strike zone. If a walk’s there, you’re going to embrace it and take it. I think for young players who try to force a walk you see a lot of 0-2 counts transpire.”
Scioscia has been quick to offer up Bourjos’ limited playing time last season as a crutch for a slow offensive start. So far Bourjos hasn’t needed the crutch and that may be a testament to his off-season preparation. His speed certainly hasn’t suffered.
“Peter had kind of a lost year last year on the offensive side because he didn’t get the looks that he wanted or needed,” Scioscia said, “but he kept himself sharp and he’s worked very hard in the winter to try to bring that swing that he had a couple years ago where he had a good offensive year in this game and it looks lie he’s seeing the ball very well. He’s showing some patience, he’s getting some good hitting counts. I think it is a small sample obviously, but he looks comfortable in the box now. That will hopefully push him to contribute on the offensive side because we know what an incredible defender he is.”