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Maddon not getting caught up in early averages
- Updated: April 21, 2016
CINCINNATI — Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward both began Thursday’s game with batting averages under .200, but manager Joe Maddon isn’t worried about the pair after 15 games.
“Take Jason Heyward’s three days in St. Louis,” Maddon said of the just-completed series, in which Heyward went 1-for-12. “Could he have hit the ball any harder? He had one hit to show for it. He hit the ball well. He worked good at-bats, hit the ball hard, his batting average doesn’t look good.
“I didn’t know [Ben] Zobrist was 0-for-24,” Maddon said of the veteran, who was batting .212 with a .333 on-base percentage before he homered off Brandon Finnegan in the second inning of Friday’s series opener vs. the Reds. “He’s still working good at-bats, he’s getting on base, and I know I’m shaking his hand coming into the dugout after scoring runs. I really don’t get caught up in [the averages].”
The Cubs may have been batting .236 as a team to begin the weekend, but they ranked third in the National League in on-base percentage.
“I don’t worry about batting averages,” Maddon said. “They’re working good at-bats.”
Rizzo does lead the Cubs in …
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