I appreciate this big picture in the context of years past. I was just wondering why I wasn't seeing batting averages in the .300s.
Next, please give us a preview of what the impact of robo-umpiring will bring. My love of baseball and loyalty as a fan hinges on whether I can stand that or not. Baseball games are long, with action that ebbs and flows. This is why so many traditions--how umps call plays, how batters respond to a great hit, what fans dream up to do in the stands--are so important to major-league games. They make them eminently watchable, even when action flags. I do not want to see human error fade from the game's many facets. Accepting mistakes--and accepting that the law of averages will level the playing field--keeps us humble and keeps the game human.
People always accuse Yankee fans of being myopic and always overvaluing their tradition and media coverage. The other side of the story is how baseball pundits and purists go out of their way not to give credit even when it is due. This story is about batting averages and how they have fallen, with Trea Turner leading the National League with a paltry .304. It gets around to mentioning Aaron Judge after 11 paragraphs to note that he topped the AL at .331 “the kind of number fans are accustomed to seeing from a batting title champion.” No mention of the fact that this accustomed number led the major leagues by more than 20 points or that accompanying a batting title with 50+ HRs had been accomplished only twice before, by Mickey Mantle and Jimmy Foxx. Given what the article is saying about the dominance of pitching, it would have been worth a sentence to note that in that context Judge had put together back-to-back seasons as good as any right-handed hitter in history. The real burn, however, is saved for pitching, where we are told that “In the AL, Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet won 18 games (another old-school stat) with a 2.59 ERA and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal led the league with a 2.21 ERA.” Great years, but Max Fried won 19 games (also with just 5 loses) with an ERA of 2.86 and a lower WHIP than Crochet. Always fun to hate the Yankees, but we often have good reasons to gripe.
I remember following Carew in 1977 when I was a little kid. I remember him being above .400 most of the way, and just dipping down just below .400 towards the end. He was the master of the slap single, just drop it into shallow outfield on a liner like a machine.
I looked it up. Maybe I'm remembering wrong because he hit .441 in like the last 28 games. I just remember it came down to the very end, and it looked very much like he might do it.
I would add to this generally excellent synopsis that strikeouts are off the charts. Everybody and their brother throws harder than ever, sure, but there is an under-appreciated and largely lost art of simply putting the bat on the ball. Three-time batting champ Luis Arraez is easily the best at this. He may just be a "singles hitter", but then, why have the playoffs followed him ever since he became a regular? He's not the only factor, but it isn't coincidence either.
Also, I would amend the statement about batting average slightly, to say that it's still relevant - not just in the minds of fans. No stat captures it all.
We really enjoy watching Arraez bat, and he's great at first too. But Manny Machado is the consummate Padre. I'll never forget him dousing himself with champagne when they won the division in 2022. It was so out of the usual character for him :)
Pitchers are paid for strikeouts, not complete games. They throw as hard as possible, which can't be sustained for nine innings (usually limited to 100 pitches--Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson must be rolling over in their graves) and just a few years before they go off for Tommy John surgery.
That may be true in the wealthy, established teams. What I see from my faves the Padres and Diamondbacks is a "whatever it takes" mentality from the managers. They know a grand slam beats a solo HR any day, and many of their batters--Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Manny Machado--are patient hitters who contribute through walks and base hits more often than not.
This is why the Dbacks got the nickname "the Answerbacks"--because they can come back from behind with incremental hitting. A solo homer in the 8th or 9th is of no use when you're down by 3.
The title is deceptive so I’m glad it was partially explained in the article. Pitchers may be better overall, throwing fewer pitches/innings, with good pitch selections, and flamethrowers in the bullpen to back them up.
I appreciate this big picture in the context of years past. I was just wondering why I wasn't seeing batting averages in the .300s.
Next, please give us a preview of what the impact of robo-umpiring will bring. My love of baseball and loyalty as a fan hinges on whether I can stand that or not. Baseball games are long, with action that ebbs and flows. This is why so many traditions--how umps call plays, how batters respond to a great hit, what fans dream up to do in the stands--are so important to major-league games. They make them eminently watchable, even when action flags. I do not want to see human error fade from the game's many facets. Accepting mistakes--and accepting that the law of averages will level the playing field--keeps us humble and keeps the game human.
People always accuse Yankee fans of being myopic and always overvaluing their tradition and media coverage. The other side of the story is how baseball pundits and purists go out of their way not to give credit even when it is due. This story is about batting averages and how they have fallen, with Trea Turner leading the National League with a paltry .304. It gets around to mentioning Aaron Judge after 11 paragraphs to note that he topped the AL at .331 “the kind of number fans are accustomed to seeing from a batting title champion.” No mention of the fact that this accustomed number led the major leagues by more than 20 points or that accompanying a batting title with 50+ HRs had been accomplished only twice before, by Mickey Mantle and Jimmy Foxx. Given what the article is saying about the dominance of pitching, it would have been worth a sentence to note that in that context Judge had put together back-to-back seasons as good as any right-handed hitter in history. The real burn, however, is saved for pitching, where we are told that “In the AL, Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet won 18 games (another old-school stat) with a 2.59 ERA and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal led the league with a 2.21 ERA.” Great years, but Max Fried won 19 games (also with just 5 loses) with an ERA of 2.86 and a lower WHIP than Crochet. Always fun to hate the Yankees, but we often have good reasons to gripe.
I remember following Carew in 1977 when I was a little kid. I remember him being above .400 most of the way, and just dipping down just below .400 towards the end. He was the master of the slap single, just drop it into shallow outfield on a liner like a machine.
I looked it up. Maybe I'm remembering wrong because he hit .441 in like the last 28 games. I just remember it came down to the very end, and it looked very much like he might do it.
I remember in 1980 a local newspaper had a daily "Brett Watch" that tracked and reported George Brett's batting average during that season.
I would add to this generally excellent synopsis that strikeouts are off the charts. Everybody and their brother throws harder than ever, sure, but there is an under-appreciated and largely lost art of simply putting the bat on the ball. Three-time batting champ Luis Arraez is easily the best at this. He may just be a "singles hitter", but then, why have the playoffs followed him ever since he became a regular? He's not the only factor, but it isn't coincidence either.
Also, I would amend the statement about batting average slightly, to say that it's still relevant - not just in the minds of fans. No stat captures it all.
We really enjoy watching Arraez bat, and he's great at first too. But Manny Machado is the consummate Padre. I'll never forget him dousing himself with champagne when they won the division in 2022. It was so out of the usual character for him :)
Tony Gwynn, .394 (1994).
Batters are paid to hit home runs, not singles.
Pitchers are paid for strikeouts, not complete games. They throw as hard as possible, which can't be sustained for nine innings (usually limited to 100 pitches--Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson must be rolling over in their graves) and just a few years before they go off for Tommy John surgery.
That may be true in the wealthy, established teams. What I see from my faves the Padres and Diamondbacks is a "whatever it takes" mentality from the managers. They know a grand slam beats a solo HR any day, and many of their batters--Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Manny Machado--are patient hitters who contribute through walks and base hits more often than not.
This is why the Dbacks got the nickname "the Answerbacks"--because they can come back from behind with incremental hitting. A solo homer in the 8th or 9th is of no use when you're down by 3.
The title is deceptive so I’m glad it was partially explained in the article. Pitchers may be better overall, throwing fewer pitches/innings, with good pitch selections, and flamethrowers in the bullpen to back them up.
I think we can thank all the diganostics for pitching improvement. Alas, no more raw-talent phenoms like Fernando Valenzuela. Everything is scripted.