May
30
2011

Tejada’s 16 Pitch At-Bat Is Longest In Majors This Season

An article by Hojo's Mojo

On Friday night, when Mets second baseman Ruben Tejada battled Phillies’ pitcher Antonio Bastardo in a 16-pitch at-bat that resulted in a walk, manager Terry Collins said it was “as good as an at-bat as we’ve seen all year from anybody.”

“He fought off the good pitches. The thing I thought was truly amazing was that he took a couple close pitches that were off the plate that were balls. That’s what I like because that tells me that he has great knowledge of the strike zone and a great feel for what he’s doing. He didn’t expand the zone. He stayed with it, just tried to put it in play and not do too much. That was an outstanding at-bat against a real tough pitcher.”

Tejada’s 16-pitch at-bat is two pitches greater than the longest at-bat in the majors this season, which had been accomplished three times according to the Elias Sports Bureau, .

At the time, the Phillies and Mets were deadlocked in a 3-3 tie with two out in the eighth inning. Tejada quickly fell behind 0-and-2, but quickly fouled off three pitches while taking three balls and working the count full. Tejada then proceeded to foul off seven consecutive pitches before finally taking ball four and earning the bases on ball.

“Walking is fine because you win the at-bat,” Tejada said. “He threw me away, away, away, a couple sliders. I tried to hit the ball to the right side.”

Tejada, 21, isn’t exactly known for his offensive prowess, but Terry Collins believes he will become a quality hitter as he gets older, bigger and stronger. For now, the Mets value him for his glove, but Tejada has had some timely hits during his short time in the majors. He was batting .267 with three homers and 18 RBI in 39 games before he was called up.

That at-bat ended up being one of the highlights of the game which the Mets lost unfortunately. Tejada did all he could to get on base and become the potential winning run for the Mets. You really have to admire that type of tenacity and drive in one so young as Tejada. It’s definitely a great quality to have.

About the Author: Rob Johnson

4 Comments + Add Comment

Metsie May 30, 2011 at 11:35 am

LOL I wish I had done my At Bat analysis about that one!

But it pretty much was everything I said a batter should do once he gets two strikes on him!
mike May 30, 2011 at 12:41 pm

I think Tejada is nothing more than a utility infielder. He is an upgrade over Hu, but that’s not saying much.
- Metsie May 30, 2011 at 1:01 pm
  
  Yes but if he had more at bats like the one mentioned he would be a much better hitter and miles above Hu in Glove AND Bat then….
  
  The average pitch count in the league is 17 Pitches per inning (120/7)
  So even one 17 Pitch at bat knocks that pitcher out in the 6th Inning, Get another he now doesn’t make it past the 5th! No matter what happens, even if the guy has a lead they are not going to go much further than the number in his PC.
  
  Do that once a game and add it up, even if he strikes out when all is said and done the damage to the Pitcher has been done and it will help everyone else as well!
  - t agee May 30, 2011 at 1:22 pm
    
    That would have been the AB to have done your analysis on Metsie. Tejada did a great job on that AB. I cannot recall anyone fouling off more pitches in one AB ever. Definitely no Met has done that in 25 years.
    
    Bay and Wright in particular have to start their swings too early because of either lost bat speed or too long of a swing to be able to keep AB’s alive like that.
    
    Tejada is not yet close to his peak as a hitter but he showed everyone last year that he has a good pitch recognition, a good eye and a short swing. If he could just lay off the (just a little) high fastball he would make pitchers bring it down a little for him and that would make a big difference.
    
    Great AB though. Really enjoyed it.

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