Tinsley Tracker: Following KU catcher Michael Tinsley’s chase for .400

By Matt Tait     May 18, 2016

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Kansas catcher Michael Tinsley is chasing that magic mark of .400 at the plate and we'll track his sprint to the finish right here.

Junior catcher Michael Tinsley’s chase for .400 took a pretty big hit on Tuesday night, when he finished 0-for-3 during [the Jayhawks’ 7-6 loss at Wichita State.][1]

Tinsley, who has been in a bit of a mini-slump since watching his average climb above .400 in the final game of KU’s series with Texas Tech, struck out twice and also scored a run in the loss to the Shockers.

He now will need to finish the season on a major hot streak if he’s going to get back above the magic number.

KU, which sits a game and a half behind the Wildcats and Baylor Bears for the eighth and final spot in the conference tourney, now has three conference games remaining in the regular season (Thursday through Saturday at Oklahoma State), giving Tinsley just three more guaranteed games to attempt to finish at or above .400.

We won’t be there for all of Tinsley’s at-bats, but we will track his chase for .400 in this blog right here, as he attempts to become the first Jayhawk since Joe DeMarco in 1997 (.439) to finish a season above .400 and just the seventh Jayhawk to accomplish the feat since 1971.

Let’s take a look…

Updated Batting Average: .386
——————-

**Name:** Michael Tinsley

**Year:** Junior
**Position:** Catcher
**Measurables:** 6-foot, 194 pounds
**Bats:** Left
**Throws:** Right
**Multi-hit games:** 25

**Most recent outing:** 0-for-3 in 7-6 road loss at Wichita State on Tuesday, May 17.

**Details:** Tinsley scored a run in the loss, but also struck out twice during his hard-luck night. As has been the case throughout his recent cool stretch, Tinsley hit a couple of balls right on the sweet spot but also right at WSU defenders. He clearly continues to see the ball well but needs to see the ball start finding some gaps again if he’s going to make a run at .400.

**Up next:** 6:30 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma State.

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2016/may/18/ku-baseball-falls-wsu/

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.