By which I mean Carlos Peguero's most awful, embarrassing swings at pitches way out of the strike zone. That's what he's more known for, right? Did you think this was going to be a list of Carlos Peguero's hits? I don't think Carlos Peguero has enough hits for a list.
Look, it's not that I want Carlos Peguero to be bad. Not one of us wants Carlos Peguero to be bad. Why would any Mariners fan want Carlos Peguero to be bad? He's a Mariner. He's young, and he's powerful, and I don't think I really need to explain this any further. Maybe a few Mariners fans have personal reasons for rooting against Peguero, and maybe a few Mariners fans have racist reasons for rooting against Peguero, but he's a Mariners player and therefore the overwhelming majority of us would prefer that he have a clue and produce.
And maybe someday he will have a clue, and he will produce on a somewhat consistent basis. When the Mariners talk about Peguero's potential - it's silly, because he has the most raw plate discipline on the planet, but there's no denying that he could practically bunt for a home run. (Ed. note: idea!) Justin Smoak isn't as strong as Carlos Peguero is. Mike Trout isn't as strong as Carlos Peguero is. Chone Figgins isn't as strong as Carlos Peguero is when he's wearing a mechanical bodysuit. Peguero has the strength to turn almost any pitch into a dinger.
The problem is that Peguero is aware of that. He sees every pitch as an opportunity without any mental evaluation of how good the opportunity is. So Peguero swings and swings and swings until either a fan in the bleachers is unconscious or the umpire tells Peguero that his turn is over and somebody else gets to bat now. Since 2011, there have been 481 different players to bat at least 150 times. Not one of them has made contact less frequently than Carlos Peguero. Not one of them has swung at a higher rate of pitches out of the strike zone than Carlos Peguero.
There are players with relatively poor discipline who are successful in the majors. There are no players with Peguero's discipline who are successful in the majors. There have probably not been many players who had Peguero's discipline and later went on to become successful in the majors. Maybe there have been very few of them. Maybe there have been none of them. It's easy to say "Peguero has bad discipline but it could get better," but when you actually watch Carlos Peguero, you realize how much he needs to improve. And you realize that he's almost certainly not going to improve enough.
Here are Carlos Peguero .gifs. These are .gifs of him swinging at very wild pitches. I could have made many, many more. Carlos Peguero is one of a kind, in the major leagues, because other teams don't have their Carlos Pegueros in the major leagues.
(later in the same at-bat)
Umpires probably don't even watch Carlos Peguero and just assume that he swings all the time. Which, you know, I get it.
(later in the same at-bat)
I almost feel like I should praise Carlos Peguero for only swinging at this pitch a little instead of a lot. It practically hit his back foot.
Peguero: /pours shot of Drano
Peguero: /lifts shot to mouth
Peguero: /sniffs shot
Peguero: /dips tongue in shot
Peguero: /grimaces
Peguero: /puts shot down
Me: Great job Carlos!
3-for-5 against James Shields. Three home runs. Curtis Granderson is 6-for-56 against James Shields, with one home run and 14 strikeouts.