As far as plate discipline goes, there aren't many MLB hitters with a better eye than Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr.
Outside of maybe the greatest hitter of all time, at least in Giants hitting coach Pat Burrell's opinion.
Burrell joined KNBR 680's "Murph & Markus" on Friday morning, where he was asked about Wade and his MLB-leading .481 on-base percentage this season and likened his feel of the strike zone to that of a Giants legend.
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"He's so good, he's so disciplined up there," Burrell said. "He has the best strike zone awareness of really anybody I've seen outside of Barry [Bonds], probably. And so every day he swings at strikes and he takes balls and he takes borderline stuff and he gets on base and he's not afraid to go to first base, of course, but he also hits the ball really hard.
"We haven't seen the massive power numbers, but they're in there and they'll come with time. But as far as hitting the ball hard up the middle through the big part of the field, I don't think anyone's doing it better than he is. He's a consistent worker, he comes in with a plan every day and an absolute joy to be around."
Wade reached base six times in the Giants' win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday and usually captures the attention of everyone in San Francisco's dugout when he steps into the batter's box.
"It's fun to watch. We talk about it all the time in the dugout about how he takes control of these at-bats and he doesn't chase and is able to get in hitter's counts," Burrell shared. "If they give in he puts a hell of a swing on it. If they don't he goes to first base. He's got a real positive, strong plan up there and he's a massive part of what we're doing."
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Wade also is batting .339 with an eye-popping and career-best 172 OPS+ through 49 games this season.
While he might not have the power numbers the Giants certainly could use in a first baseman, Wade more than makes up for it with his impressive approach at the plate.
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