Quote Originally Posted by gilesfan View Post
But this assumes pitchers can throw strikes when they want to. Look at some of the walk leaders. Duda, Uggla, Carlos Pena, \

Heck there are a couple pitchers with walk rates over 10% (Pettibone, Lynn)
I guess I was thinking more of the Moneyball draft and all that huzzah. My guess is the difference with the guys you point is that first and foremost, they are in the big leagues and can hit big league fastballs. You don't get to the bigs without that ability. Second, they can't do much of anything with borderline pitches, so they don't swing at them. Sometimes those pitches are balls and sometimes they are strikes (which adds to both the walk and strikeout totals for those players). Plus, a mistake to those guys usually ends up in the stands. It's all risk/reward when you're pitching, but you are right in contending that guys still have to throw quality strikes.