Do the Royals value on base percentage?
The acquisition of Jacobs (.299 OBP in 2008 and .318 for his career) would lead one to believe they don’t. However, this spring manager Trey Hillman has been preaching the OBP gospel. “Our thought process,” Hillman said, “is that with our team, especially in our home ballpark, we’ve got to have an on-base percentage approach. I think everyone does to some degree. But we’re trying to turn that up a little bit more, maybe, than other clubs.” It’s spring. Everyone says the right thing in the spring. Hillman said similar things last spring and the Royals’ team OBP finished at .320, which ranked them 26 out of 30 teams. If Hillman for some reason ever decides to bat Jacobs and Miguel Olivo back to back in the lineup, we’ll know it’s just lip service. 5. Are the Royals this year’s Rays? We all know the story: A team that never won more than 70 games in a season puts together a winning record, holds off Boston for the AL East title, finishes off the White Sox in the ALDS then triumphs over th
