In which category do you think Ron Kittle is leading the White Sox this spring?
No, not homers, not runs batted in, not offhand quips. The big man is first in a little-recognized statistic–walks.
Taking 11 bases on balls is a reflection of how hard the right-handed slugger has worked to reduce his swings at pitches out of the strike zone.
”Kittle and (pitcher) Tim Lollar have been our biggest pluses this spring,” manager Tony LaRussa said. ”Kittle is hitting strikes and he has established a zone for himself.”
Kittle seldom met a pitch he didn`t like to swing at last season. During spring training in 1984, the free spirit swung so freely he walked only three times. In the regular season, however, he was third best on the club with 49 walks.
He doesn`t want to lead the Sox in walks this year, but he will be less conscious of hitting a homer when he steps to the plate. And so he will make pitchers work harder than in the past.
”When you get too homer conscious it can work against you,” said Kittle before Tuesday night`s game against Baltimore. ”I`ve talked to a lot of people about that, and I`m going to be thinking of homers less this season, unless the situation has need of a homer.”
Kittle doubled and singled against the Orioles, but the Sox were beaten 3-0 as Lollar struggled in the starting assignment. The left-hander gave up seven hits for two runs in his six innings.
”The biggest thing I`ve had to learn was just to be myself when I batted,” said Kittle. ”There were times I`ve felt I had to hit a homer every time I came up.
”Homers will come. That doesn`t worry me. The thing I have to do is put the ball in play with a hard line drive. I`ve hit line drives quite a bit this spring, but too many have been at people.”
He has two homers and nine RBIs, not far off his exhibition statistics last year when he had three homers and 14 RBIs along with a .328 average.
Kittle seldom hits to the opposite field, but he points out that most pitchers try to throw inside against him. ”It`s difficult to get it into right field swinging at that spot,” he said. ”They hold off giving me many outside pitches.”
But as long as Kittle concentrates on contact and not distance, he will be better off.
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”The book on me in the American League is to give me high fastballs,”
he said. ”Those are the pitches I have to lay off. I can still hit a few of those when I`m going good, but it will be important for me this year to understand what it takes in the particular situation.”
Kittle led the Sox with 32 homers last year, finishing third on the team with 74 RBIs. Hard to believe he could belt so many homers and yet end up driving in so few runners. But a .215 average shows you why that was.
”I`ll be satisfied to hit fewer homers and get more runs batted in,” he said.
”I wasn`t pleased hitting .254 in 1983, either. I hit over .300 my last three years in the minors, so I know I have the capability to do that in the majors.
”I`m 27, remember. Been in the majors just two years. I`m going to learn as I go along. I don`t feel any pressure this year. I feel real comfortable with myself.
”Some guys don`t make it big until they go a while in the majors. There are exceptions to that, of course, but I`ll be glad to come into my own as I mature in the majors.”
Since he soared into the majors in 1983 as the AL Rookie of the Year, Kittle has been able to handle the pressure as well as anyone ever did in similar situations.
He has found his popularity a blessing and a curse. ”Pluses and minuses,” he said. ”A lot was expected of an award winner, and, even though I hit a lot of homers last year, there was criticism.
”The guys that win the awards get the most criticism. But that`s always where I wanted to be, so I can`t kick. Who`d listen anyway?”