The Seventh Tool

Steve Bernhardt: Building the Better Ballplayer

What do Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams all have in common? Yes, they’re Hall of Famers and yes they belong in the discussion of the greatest hitters of all time, but did you know that they also all walked more times than they struck out in their careers? They all had knowledge and control of the strike zone. They all had plate discipline.

I know that the walk to strikeout ratio is considered by many as an archaic way to measure plate discipline. Statisticians have conducted many recent analyses of plate discipline that include percentages of balls swung at that are out of the strike zone, contact percentages, pitches per at bat, hitter tendencies toward passive or aggressive approaches and others. For this discussion we’ll keep it simple and stick with the BB/K ratio that I happen to feel still has merit.

Strikeout totals continue to rise in baseball today and they seem to be more accepted. I understand that there are a lot of variables in the mix. Closers, set-up men, splitters and sliders have emerged. So has the line-up in which every player is capable of hitting the ball out of today’s smaller parks at any time, as well as a propensity for working deeper counts. Gone are the days of the 2-strike approach and fighting to avoid making that walk back to the dugout after being beaten by the pitcher.

Despite the high strikeout totals, some players do buck the trend. Recent HOF inductees Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs all walked more than they struck out as did the current career HR leader, Barry Bonds. In today’s game it’s getting harder to find players that maintain a positive ratio. Superstar Albert Pujols has walked 802 times while striking out just 566 times at this point in his career. Others with a positive ratio are Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Dustin Pedroia, all quality hitters.

I discussed in a previous blog that a player’s make-up should be regarded as the 6th tool for position players joining the standard five tools (hitting ability, power, defensive ability, arm, speed). Finding a player with multiple plus tools out of the “original” five will normally result in a productive Major Leaguer and if those “tools guys” have solid make-up you normally have an All-Star. Add in plate discipline to the mix and the result seems to be a Hall of Famer. I think plate discipline deserves its place as the 7th tool when scouting position players.




Steve Bernhardt is the Executive VP of Baseball Operations with Baseball Factory. Bernhardt played for five years in the Colorado Rockies organization. As Executive VP of Baseball Operations at Baseball Factory, he oversees all events and instruction. Bernhardt formerly served as an Associate Scout with the Colorado Rockies. He received his B.S. from the University of Richmond where he was an All-Conference player.