WASHINGTON — More than one-third of the way through 2015, Ian Desmond is in the midst of the worst season of his career.
Desmond had hit 20-plus home runs for three straight seasons (2012-2014) entering his age 29 season, leading to three Silver Slugger awards.
As of Thursday afternoon, Desmond (.228/.273/.351) was hitting 38 points below his career average, and his on-base and slugging percentages had dipped 40 and 74 points, respectively.
“He’s been inconsistent,” Nats manager Matt Williams told The Junkies. “He’s had some games where he’s hitting the ball over the fence, and had some good games, but he’s struggled for the majority of the season to find a consistent stroke. But he does work at it, you guys. I mean, it’s incredible the amount of work he puts in.”
After beginning the season with 9 errors in April, as Desmond’s defense began to stabilize through May, his offense declined. And now it’s circling the drain.
He’s hitting .153 with 22 strikeouts in June; his 78 strikeouts — 9 more than perennial K king Ryan Howard — are the fifth highest total in the Majors. He’s struck out four times in three games this season.
“We know that this guy’s got pedigree,” Williams said. “It’s proven over the last three years that, offensively, he’s the best shortstop in the league. And he’ll get there. You go through times — I personally have been through those times where nothing seems to go right.
“If you hit a ball hard, it’s caught. And there’s one thing that you can do, and only one thing that you can do, and that’s keep playing. And Ian will do that.”
Personally, you have to feel for Desmond. In a contract year — after betting on himself roughly a year and 7 months ago, turning down a contract extension which reportedly would have paid him an additional $89.5 million through the 2020 season — he is drowning.
No matter what people write or say, and no matter how much of it he sees or hears, Williams insists Desmond’s approach to the game has not changed.
“I would imagine that anything that’s said or written, or, you know, talked about — I’m sure Ian is aware,” Williams said. “And he can’t help but be aware. But that doesn’t change the way he goes about it.
“So he’s not worried about any of those things at this point. What he’s worried about is doing what he can to help us win, and be part of a winning club, part of a championship club. Yeah, of course he hears things. Of course there’s things out there written and talked about. But there’s not much he can do about it anyway. All he can do is prepare.”
Williams remains confident his shortstop will turn it around, and, going strictly off of numbers, there’s no reason for fans to disagree. That moment has not come yet.
Desmond went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
Burke & Herbert “Fan Question of the Week”
Q: As a player, what were your favorite and least favorite ballparks? — Jackie in Virginia
A: “As a player, my favorite’s Wrigley Field. It continues to be. Even with the changes that they made — the new changes to the outfield bleachers, and the Jumbotrons, and the boards and all of that — I love day games. For me, as an old school feel, I like the fact that you play baseball during the day.
“My worst stadium was the Astrodome. Didn’t like the Astrodome at all. Couldn’t see the baseball there. Didn’t have success there. And it’s probably because we had to go in and face Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott, and those guys, but the Astrodome was a tough one for me.”
[Listen to the audio here | Follow @ChrisLingebach]
