Carew and Putnam hit 'em where they ain't

If you are as old as me you may remember the famous 1974 Sports Illustrated cover photo of Minnesota Twins second baseman Rod Carew during his bid to become the first Major League player since Ted Williams to hit .400 for a season.

The caption to the photo was Rod Carew: Hit ‘Em Where They Ain’t

Being a longtime Twins fan I often think of Carew and that SI cover while watching UW-Whitewater’s Danny Putnam hit.

Putnam is currently hitting a NCAA Division III best .530. He is coming off a four-game series over the weekend at UW-Stout where the Warhawk rightfielder put together a 10 for 16 four-game series with 6 runs batted in with 6 runs scored – 3 walks and 0 strike outs.

It must have been a “career weekend” for the Ashland native – right? Nope! Putnam has shown amazing consistency the entire season and the UW-Stout series was just the latest episode.

From his lead-off spot in the batting order, “Putt” currently has an on-base percentage of .602 to go with his .530 batting average which both top WIAC statistics.

When asked about his success at the plate Putnam is extremely “Carew like” in his answer.

“I don’t know, getting lucky I guess, I can’t explain it” Putnam told voiceseyeonbaseball.blogspot.com. “I’m just looking for something “up” and get the barrel of the bat on the ball.”

Putnam uses an old Yogi Berra quote to describe his attitude at the plate - "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up I change bats . . . After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

Putnam is not just a singles hitter. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, he has the ability to “drive” the baseball to the tune of 9 doubles and 2 triples so far in 2011.

As an outfielder, Putnam possesses one of the top arms in the WIAC. In the Hawk’s game-one win Monday, Putnam threw a laser from his position in right field to teammate Drew Eichstaedt at third base to “shoot down” a Blue Devil baserunner.

From his lead-off spot in the batting order Putnam truly is the igniter for a potent Warhawk offense.