Let’s set the record straight right from the get-go, I’m as old-school as they come. I grew up in the Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Bob Miller, Pete Richert and Ken Rowe years; back when ‘designated hitter’ meant all nine guys in the lineup. But let’s be honest here, then and now, most pitchers suck at the plate.

Most.

Over his 14 major league seasons (all with the Dodgers), Hall of Fame right-hander Don Drysdale had a slash-line of .186/.228/.295/.523; certainly not very good from a Silver Slugger Award standpoint, which didn’t even begin until 1980. However, of his 218 career hits in his 1,169 career at-bats, 26 were doubles, seven were triples and a remarkable 29 were home runs. This figures out to be one home run every 40.31 at-bats.

By comparison, in his (thus far) 12 major league seasons (all with the Dodgers), future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw has a current slash-line of .159/.203/.183/.386 with 105 career hits in his 662 career at-bats. Of his 105 hits thus far, Kershaw has 11 doubles, one triple, and one home run. This, of course, figures out to be one home run for every 662 at-bats.

When you consider that current Dodgers utility infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor averages one home run every 33.47 at-bats and that current utility infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernandez averages one home run every 25.03 at-bats, you begin to realize that despite his .186 career batting average, Drysdale actually did “rake,” as the kids today say.

To be fair, in this day and age of exceptional opposing pitching, there is basically no expectation whatsoever for today’s pitchers to be even remotely good with a bat. There are, however, a few exceptions and we are, of course, only talking about the National League, with the American League having gone to the designated hitter rule in 1973.

Per Owlcroft Baseball, here are the best hitting (starting) pitchers during the 2019 regular season based on batting average with a minimum of 25 plate appearances (PA):

1. Peter Lambert – COL – 34 PA – .321
2. Shohei Ohtani – LAA (two-way player) – 425 PA – .286
3. Zack Greinke – AZ (prior to trade to HOU) – 54 PA – .271
4. Kenta Maeda – LAD – 61 PA – .250
5. Caleb Smith – MIA – 49 PA – .233
6. Vince Velasquez – PHI – 36 PA – .233
7. German Marquez – COL – 58 PA – .229
8. Steven Matz – NYM – 57 PA – .228
9. Zack Wheeler – NYM – 64 PA – .211
10. Jacob deGrom – NYM – 70 PA – .200

Of these 10 and as a surprise to no one, Ohtani hit 18 home runs, while Greinke hit three, deGrom two, and Velasquez, Matz and Wheeler one each.

Speaking of bunting and as an interesting side note, during the 2019 regular season, the Dodgers led all of baseball with their average of 0.33 sacrifice hits per game; a mere 0.01 better than the World Series champion Washington Nationals. Who knew? (Source: TeamRankings.com).

Although by today’s standards many would consider these above 10 guys as ‘Pitchers Who Rake,’ chances are exceptionally good that Don Drysdale is looking down from above shaking his head.

Man, I miss Don.

Play Ball!

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