Dotel v. Beltre

Excellent article from Joe Posnanski about a single at-bat between Octavio Dotel and Adrian Beltre.

Dotel starts off with a slider. He’s not stupid. He knows Beltre is a dead fastball hitter. In 2004, Beltre mashed 48 homers for Los Angeles. He hasn’t been nearly that intimidating since then – in fact he’s only hit 54 homers in the two and a half years after that – but everybody in baseball knows that Beltre can still turn around a fastball. The slider sweeps outside, and Beltre does not swing. Ball one.

“He’s looking for a fastball so how does he not swing at that slider?” Dotel would ask. “I’ll tell you how: It’s because this is Major League Baseball. He knows what he wants to hit. He’s a great hitter.”