Walks Scarce in Erstad’s Run

As if the season Darin Erstad is putting together isn’t eye-popping enough, Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn unearthed yet another Erstad statistic that left him shaking his head.

Entering play Friday night, Erstad had drawn only 39 walks in 412 at-bats in 96 games, a figure Vaughn found amazing for a guy batting .381.

“That’s what’s crazy about it,” Vaughn said. “You hit .370 or .380, you’ve got to walk a lot.”

It’s simple math. A walk is not an at-bat, so the fewer at-bats you have, the fewer hits you need to keep up your average.

When Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, he led the league with 145 walks in 456 at-bats. A career .344 hitter, Williams led the league in walks six times, including 162 in 1947 and ’49.

At his current pace, Erstad would finish 2000 with 65 walks and 695 at-bats. Of course, he’s also leading the major leagues with 157 hits and before Friday’s game was on pace for 264 hits, which would break George Sisler’s record of 257, set in 1920.

“I wish walks were a bigger part of my game,” said Erstad, the Angels’ leadoff batter, who had a single and a walk Friday. “But I tend to be aggressive, and I tend to swing at some pitches I shouldn’t--you get fooled sometimes.”

Despite his low walk total, Erstad still has the highest on-base percentage (.436) of any American League leadoff batter. But it still might benefit Erstad to look for a few more free passes.

“When you’re struggling as a hitter, walks are real important because of my role on the team, which is to get on base,” Erstad said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to lose my aggressiveness.

“Pitchers can’t be too careful with me because if I walk, I can steal second, and you have the thunder coming up behind me. I know that, and I want to be aggressive in the strike zone.”

*

Vaughn was still feeling the effects of Thursday night’s beanball Friday. The area around his right eye was a little swollen, causing some discomfort.

The fastball by Ranger left-hander Darren Oliver struck the ear flap of Vaughn’s batting helmet, pushing the helmet into his face. “You get hit in the head, it’s gonna hurt a little, Vaughn said.

That didn’t keep Vaughn out of the lineup, though. Vaughn played first base Friday night and is the only Angel to start and play in all 97 games this season.

*

Angel President Tony Tavares said if Ken Hill continues to pitch well, the Angels would be more inclined to keep the often-injured right-hander rather than trade him before July 31, even if a team offers a top prospect for him.

“It’s not that big of a financial issue,” Tavares said, referring to Hill’s $5.6-million salary. “If we trade him for a double-A prospect, that’s not going to help us this year, so why do it?”

Today

ANGELS’

BRIAN COOPER

(4-3, 4.02 ERA)

vs.

ATHLETICS’

BARRY ZITO

(0-0, 0.00)

Oakland Coliseum, 1 p.m.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090)

* Update--Cooper gave up only two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings in his last start, a 3-2 win over the Padres on Monday night, and he has developed a knack for not allowing run-scoring innings to turn into huge innings. The former USC right-hander will be facing another ex-Trojan today when Zito, a left-hander who was the ninth pick in the 1999 draft, makes his big league debut for the A’s. While Angel relievers entered Friday’s game having given up only 12 earned runs in their last 17 games, the A’s bullpen had given up 41 runs in its previous 16 games.