The walk in baseball is actually kind of weird. In-game success is generally generated from a physical accomplishment — hitting a ball, throwing a ball, catching a ball — but the base on balls is a reward for not doing anything to the ball (or, really, at all).
OK, OK, obviously, these batters are, in fact, doing something. Earning a walk takes discipline and awareness and patience and, as any amateur optometrist screaming at a youth game would tell you, a good eye.
Well, the Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar has mastered the art of walking — or, perhaps, the art of “not hitting.” He’s a vision virtuoso. He entered Wednesday with a 19.4% walk rate, second in the entire National League to just Juan Soto. And as the Cardinals claw their way back to relevance, a big part will be the consistent conquering of first base by their leadoff hitter. And in the past few series, finally, the guys behind “Noot” are following suit.
