{"id":51121,"date":"2022-08-20T13:45:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-20T13:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/tony-la-russa-does-it-again-issues-intentional-walk-on-2-strike-count\/"},"modified":"2022-08-20T13:45:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-20T13:45:44","slug":"tony-la-russa-does-it-again-issues-intentional-walk-on-2-strike-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/tony-la-russa-does-it-again-issues-intentional-walk-on-2-strike-count\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony La Russa does it again, issues intentional walk on 2-strike count"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tony La Russa is nothing if not consistent.<\/p>\n

The Chicago White Sox manager was hit with a torrent of criticism earlier this season when he issued an intentional walk to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Trea Turner on a 1-2 count, then watched the next batter, Max Muncy, hit a three-run homer that would put the game out of reach.<\/p>\n

La Russa dismissed any notion that what he did was unusual, let alone ill-advised, after the game, even though a two-strike intentional walk had only been done twice since 2014. Clearly, he wasn’t second-guessing himself.<\/p>\n

We now know that for sure, as the 77-year-old did the exact same thing against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, having reliever Jake Diekman intentionally walk rookie Oscar Gonz\u00e1lez on a 1-2 count to load the bases with two outs in the seventh inning.<\/p>\n

Like the Turner intentional walk, first base had just opened up on a stolen base, but this time, it worked out. The next batter, Owen Miller, flew out to right field to end the inning.<\/p>\n

La Russa once again doubled down (quadrupled down?) after the game. Like he did with Turner, her ridiculed the intentional walk was something worth arguing over before citing Gonz\u00e1lez’s batting average.<\/p>\n

From The Athletic:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cWe’ve been through this before, the most ridiculous thing in this season has been (reaction to) the 1-2 walk. I mean that’s the most ridiculous,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s what I say. Anybody says\u2026I mean. I don’t want to get into it, man. Gets me upset. Ain’t a baseball man that I know would pitch to that one guy (Trea Turner) instead of Muncy and now, if he leaves the left-hander in (Jones), not going to face Gonzalez, he’s hitting .300.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Gonz\u00e1lez entered Friday hitting .306\/.326\/.459, a strong start to his career but perhaps not a sustainable one given that he has a well-above average .379 batting average on balls in play while striking out 21.6 percent of the time and walking 2.6 percent of the time.<\/p>\n

After 1-2 counts, he has been a .310\/.322\/.414 hitter with 23 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

While the end of the seventh inning worked out for La Russa, the rest of the game didn’t. The Guardians won 5-2 behind a career night from Triston McKenzie, who struck out 14 while allowing two earned runs in seven innings.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n