Disgusted with Bonds?

[SmootSmack]

Do you think his average has gone up at all due to the fact that he has fewer at-bats because he's being walked more? So instead of batting .400 (2 hits for every 5 at bats) he's now hitting .500 (2 hits for every 4 at bats with a walk). I suppose you're response is probably going to be he's only walking more because he's hitting more homeruns and he's hitting more home runs because he's juicing.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Do you think his average has gone up at all due to the fact that he has fewer at-bats because he's being walked more? So instead of batting .400 (2 hits for every 5 at bats) he's now hitting .500 (2 hits for every 4 at bats with a walk). I suppose you're response is probably going to be he's only walking more because he's hitting more homeruns and he's hitting more home runs because he's juicing.

Walking does not help or hurt your average...it will help your OBP. So to answer that question...NO. His average has gone up in part because what used to be a fly ball for an out is now a homer, and partly because his hits are hit with more velocity and baseball being a game of inches, the defenders are not as likely to getting to the ball in time. (ie:reaction time is greatly decreased for defenders.)
So if you're 2 for 4 with 2 walks, you are batting .500. If you're 2 for 4 with 0 walks, you're still batting .500. Walks will not help this. I would actually wager it hurts you because if you are walking that much, you are less likely to get into a routine with the bat, and your swing would suffer. But like I said, walks does not affect your batting average.