Dexter Fowler: ‘It Feels Like I’m Swinging With One Hand’

Like almost every Rockies fan, I love Dexter Fowler. I love watching him play and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him break out in the last couple seasons. Having said that, I have two pet peeves about him. They may or may not be rational or grounded in fact, but here they are:

1. I hate it when Dexter Fowler bunts.
2. I hate it when Dexter Fowler tries to steal bases.

Fowler might be headed to the disabled list. Image: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

It just always feels like things go wrong when he does either of those things. Now I used to have a third item on this list: I hate it when Dexter Fowler bats left-handed. Yes, I was one of those people who wanted him to stop switch hitting. We take quite a beating since Fowler now hits very well from the left side of the plate…

What do you want me to say? It’s not like I was cheering against him when he was a disaster as a switch hitter. I love the fact I was wrong. Now this season it appears that Fowler will prove me wrong about the stolen base bit, as he has swiped 12 bases and only been caught twice. Once again I will be happy to be wrong if he becomes a legite base stealer. But you know what I’m not wrong about?

Dexter Fowler should never bunt.

It is generally agreed upon at this point that Fowler turned a corner last season and is now one of the five most important players on the Rockies roster. His success generally leads to success for the team and he touts an impressive .298/.395/.488 line this season. So now that he is a threat every time he swings the bat, he needs to swing the bat. No bunting. So his success at the plate is one reason. The second reason would be his not-quite-broken finger and looming stint on the disabled list.

Fowler described the pain in his finger to Troy Renck of the Denver Post:

"“It’s just really frustrating, because it still hurts. I want to play, but at the same time I don’t want it get worse. I don’t want it to go the other way while it’s getting better. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s not up to me…“…It feels like I am swinging with one hand. It crushes (in pain) on contact.”"

To recap, Fowler injured the ring finger on his right hand while trying to bunt for a hit last week against the Washington Nationals. It wasn’t so much an inside pitch as it was a pitch near the inside part of the zone that Fowler ran into while trying to drag bunt from the right side of the plate.

If the Rockies lose Fowler for an extended period of time and if that stint on the disabled list coincides with Troy Tulowitzki‘s absence from the lineup, well, that is the kind of situation that derails a season. So I think we can all agree…

…Dexter Fowler should never bunt.