One reason for the decline in bases-on-balls is the increase in the number of Latin players, who really do live be the ole standard 'You can't walk off an island'. However, most of these players do make contact, so they are not the main reason for the increase in strikeouts.
There are plenty of American-born players who have adopted this aggressive approach, without developing the ability to consistently make contact - and they are the ones responsible for the rise in strikeouts.
That's only a generality of course, there are exceptions to that trend among US-born players, like Jeff Francoeur who hardly ever walked but did not strikeout a million times and Adam Dunn who struck out a ton but also walked enough to regularly contend for the league lead.
Overall, with so many rules swayed in their favor, hitters have little reason to be patient and wait for the perfect pitch to hit.
The most incredibly stupid thing I have heard concerning this trend, is that it is being considered to make the use of shifts illegal. Why should pull-happy hitters like Brian McCann, for instance, be rewarded for not learning to adjust.
Nuts! MHO
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