There’s a secondary headline in a story on Reds.com today about how Dusty Baker is mentoring his guys through their struggles with hitting with runners in scoring position. It actually paints Baker in a pretty good light, especially considering that many times when he opens his mouth it’s to say really stupid things.

This time, though, he was saying how young guys come up and don’t know to think about what the pitcher is trying to do to them. Knowing if the guy is trying to strike you out, pop you up, or keep you on the ground can give you an advantage in your approach.

Sounds pretty smart to me. And then, this:

“Over the years since I’ve been here, I’ve tried to tell the guys the same thing that was told to me. The RBI man is a big man,” Baker said. “Everybody talks about on-base percentage, which is important. But even more important is when you get them out there, how many RBI men are around?”

Sing it from the hilltops, my friends: on-base percentage is important, at least in a subordinate clause kind of way. At this rate, we might even hear him utter that walks don’t clog the bases. You know, sometime before the end of this century.