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I have a very difficult time believing that Dustin Ackley is going to the plate thinking about OBP. I think, very obviously, there is a problem with his approach. But to say that stat geeks got inside his head is probably simplifying things to far too great an extent.
If you look at his minor league numbers, it's clear that selectivity is a big part of his game. It's also clear (and well documented) that he has superior contact skills. Is it possible that in the minor leagues, he was able to go with what pitchers would throw, and given his superior batting eye, and the poorer strikezone command of minor league pitchers, simply allow pitchers to put him on base via the walk? This, as opposed to certain other types of hitters that strike terror in the hearts of pitchers and force them to the outer edges of the strikezone. Is it possible that his superior contact skills allowed him to exploit the weaknesses of inferior pitchers in a way that simply doesn't work at the major league level?
It would be interesting to get some insight into what he's working on at AAA.