Plenty of small ball for pitchers

DENVER - When Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook was a junior at Hamilton High School in Ohio, he led his team’s league in hitting with a .486 average.

Times — and Cook’s role at the plate — have changed considerably.

In 2006, the righthander is batting .077 with a .077 on-base percentage.

“I know I’m not going to be a power hitter or anything like that,” Cook said before Colorado’s 16-9 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. “I think most of us (pitchers) are in the same boat — just trying to put the ball in play and just trying to help the team any way we can.”

Forget about the long ball or even small ball. Save for a handful, National League pitchers mostly are playing tiny ball when they step to the plate — laying down sacrifice bunts, grounding out away from a baserunner or simply trying to put the barrel of the bat on the ball.

“There’s two things for me with pitchers,” said Duane Espy, Colorado’s hitting instructor. “When it’s time to bunt, they have to get the bunt down. And when you get to situations where there’s a man on second and you can hit the groundout the other way and move him, or a guy on third and the infield’s playing in, you get the barrel of the bat to the ball and give yourself a chance. Put the ball in play and make (the opponent) make a play.”

That might not seem like too much to ask. But the Rockies’ starters devote practice time to it nearly every day.

Colorado’s starting pitchers take batting practice before every home game and before every away game at stadiums where opponents are given access to a batting cage. The majority of their batting practice, according to Espy, is on bunting and situational hitting. Then they have a round or two when they can swing freely.

Among the top hitting pitchers in the majors are St. Louis’ Jason Marquis, with a career batting average of .229, and Washington’s Livan Hernandez, who has a career average of .238 and has hit four home runs the past three years.

Colorado’s Jason Jennings is in that group. Jennings, who Espy said gives the Rockies “another bat in the lineup,” leads Colorado’s starting pitchers with a .200 batting average this season. He has an on-base percentage of .231.

“His average suffers because he gets pitched to like a hitter,” Espy said. “They throw him breaking balls in fastball counts.”

Another starter, Jeff Francis, has improved greatly this season despite his .125 batting average, Espy said.

“I know he’s only hitting .100 or whatever, but I bet you there’s a handful of either lineouts or sharp-hit ground balls right at infielders,” Espy said.

Wednesday’s starter, Josh Fogg, drew a walk, laid down a sacrifice bunt and then, with two on and two out, went down swinging. Fogg, according to Espy, did not do much work in batting practice before coming to Colorado but has improved greatly.

“I think this group’s done a great job,” Espy said.

Hitting is something the pitchers enjoy. Cook calls pitchers having to hit “the part about the National League I love.” And when permitted to swing freely during batting practice, Colorado’s pitchers often will stage impromptu home run contests — Francis hit six consecutive homers before a May game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I think everybody loves hitting, and most guys grow up playing every position and hitting,” Jennings said. “So we have a good time getting out there and swinging the bat and every once in a while contributing during a game.”

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jake.schaller@gazette.com