Jayson Werth an on-base machine after rediscovering patience
Lost in the drama surrounding Bryce Harper’s dip in production, his possible injury, and even now the hoopla with Jonathan Papelbon’s pending release, is the excellent run Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth is currently enjoying. At least it’s been lost on the national level, because the folks in Washington D.C. are well aware that Werth could tie an impressive franchise record this weekend.
With his RBI double in Friday’s 8-5 loss to Atlanta, Werth has now reached base in 41 consecutive games. That puts him two games short of the Nationals franchise record 43-game on-base streak set by Ryan Zimmerman in 2009. Werth can’t get there though before he extends it to 42, which is exactly what he’ll try to do on Saturday in the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
You can stream the game at Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home beginning at 6:05 p.m. ET.
In baseball, as in life, sometimes we outsmart ourselves when we overthink our approach to life’s daily tasks.
Just ask Werth. At 37, he was a classic example of what can go wrong when the wheels start turning a little too much, too often, and ultimately what can go right again once that approach is simplified again.
According to MLB.com’s Alex Putterman, Werth was determined to rework his entire offensive game coming into his 14th MLB season. After building his career around stretching counts, drawing walks and simply focusing on getting on base, Werth wanted to be more aggressive in order to drive up his run production. Though the results were far from disastrous, they were not up to the standard Werth had hoped to set. Through his first 62 games this season, he was hitting .250/.318/.430 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs.
The .318 on-base percentage was particularly disconcerting. After all, Werth is a guy who likes to hit atop the order, and to produce there he needs to be on base. That’s why he decided to go back to a more patient approach, and that change now has him on the verge of something pretty special.
Werth has reached base in every game since June 20, raising his on-base percentage from .318 to .343 over that time. That’s much closer to his career .364 on-base percentage. His current streak is also the longest of his career and the longest in the Majors this season.
“Everybody that’s anybody always told me, ‘You need to be more aggressive, you need to swing at the first pitch, you need to do this, you need to do that.'” Werth said. “That’s just not really been my game, but for whatever reason, I thought this was the year I was going to do that. And I think I’ve silenced all those people that have told me over the years that that’s the way I should hit.”
Indeed he has, and the Nationals are thankful Werth wasn’t one to force the issue. His awareness and/or lack of stubbornness has been an important factor for them this summer, and that should continue throughout the season. It’s all about finding that comfort zone. He’s found it and he’s locked into it.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
