DBAHO Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Found this to be an interesting read; How about the other side of the equation, batting with runners in scoring position? When we look at Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position (BA/RISP), are we seeing batters "rise to the occasion?" Or are we observing the residue of design, with the team's best batters coming up most often with RISP? Well, I compared each team's overall Batting Average to the Batting Average of the players who accounted for roughly the top 50% of the team's At Bats with Runners in Scoring Position. That sounds complicated, but all I really did was calculate the relative strength of the batters who came to bat with RISP most often for each team. I didn't analyze their actual performance with RISP; I looked at whether the best hitters (highest overall BA) were the ones most likely to be at bat when it counted. Most teams had about five batters account for 50% of their team's At Bats with RISP. And virtually every team managed to have their best hitters up with RISP. But some teams were better at it than others: Team BA Top5BA Diff ARI .253 .284 .031 SEA .270 .299 .029 SDP .273 .301 .028 CIN .250 .277 .027 LAD .262 .286 .024 ANA .282 .305 .023 STL .278 .300 .022 TEX .266 .287 .021 BAL .281 .302 .021 COL .275 .294 .020 PHI .267 .286 .019 HOU .267 .286 .019 NYY .268 .286 .018 PIT .260 .278 .017 DET .272 .288 .016 MON .249 .263 .015 CHC .268 .282 .014 TBD .258 .272 .014 BOS .282 .295 .013 FLO .264 .275 .011 ATL .270 .281 .011 KC .259 .269 .011 MIN .266 .275 .009 MIL .248 .257 .009 CLE .276 .284 .008 OAK .270 .278 .008 TOR .260 .265 .005 SFG .270 .275 .005 CHW .268 .272 .004 NYM .249 .252 .003 I figured we would see the NL teams at the top of this list, what with the pitcher batting and all. Well, really, just with the pitcher batting. But the top two teams are an interesting contrast. The Diamondbacks did have their pitchers bat and a lot of other lousy hitters to boot. But they also had a few good hitters, who accounted for 50% of scoring position at bats, and these hitters stood out against the rest of the crew. Remember, this is a measure of relative batting skills. On the other hand, Seattle surprisingly tied for the top of the list, thanks again to Ichiro. In the AL, the leadoff batter is more likely to bat with runners in scoring position than in the NL, making Ichiro the ideal AL leadoff batter (high BA/high OBP). The Mets are at the bottom of the list, which is what happens when a .231 hitter (Mike Cameron) has the most at bats with RISP on the team. But if you've been following along, you've noticed the huge surprise at the bottom of this list: the Chicago White Sox!! Go back to the top of the page and check out the White Sox's position on the graph. Yes, the White Sox batted .291 with RISP, which was SECOND IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. But they were the second-worst team at getting their best hitters to the plate with RISP. As opposed to, say, the Angels, who managed a high BA/RISP thanks to getting their best hitters up to bat, the White Sox did the opposite. Their batters quite simply rose to the occasion when it counted. Here's a list of the ten batters who batted most frequently with runners in scoring position for the Sox: Player AB/RISP Total BA BA/RISP Diff P Konerko 140 .277 .314 .037 J Crede 122 .239 .238 -.001 A Rowand 107 .310 .290 -.020 J Valentin 105 .216 .248 .032 J Uribe 99 .283 .323 .040 W Harris 76 .262 .276 .015 T Perez 68 .246 .397 .151 F Thomas 66 .271 .273 .002 R Gload 58 .321 .397 .076 M Ordonez 54 .292 .352 .060 All but two of these guys batted better with runners in scoring position -- some batted significantly better. You absolutely have to give the Sox hitters credit for this surge in clutch hitting. But I can almost guarantee you that it will not happen next year. If Ken Williams is constructing his 2005 Sox based on 2004's runs scored output, he's going to be sorely disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthraxFan93 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Well these numbers don't surprise me, I mean how many times did we see the first 2 men on base and then ground into a double play, or get basesloaded and do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchetman Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Well these numbers don't surprise me, I mean how many times did we see the first 2 men on base and then ground into a double play, or get basesloaded and do the same thing. that's exactly the opposite of what the article is saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Carlos had less AB's with RISP than Magglio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juddling Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I'm not sure of the numbers but i had C. Lee on my fantasy team so i paid extra attention and he seemed to come up with RISP ALOT. (again...i say seemed) . if he would have dialed it down and not swung himself out of his shoes even half the time he could have had an extra 20 RBI's at least. I remember going to a couple games where he had runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs and he swung so damn hard he nearly fell over and didn't get it out of the infield. juddling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Carlos had less AB's with RISP than Magglio? Carlos had 147 AB w/ RISP http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/spli...tting&year=2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Carlos had 147 AB w/ RISP http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/spli...tting&year=2004 Wonder why he was left off the list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Wonder why he was left off the list? Must not have supported their arguement, because it looks like he led the team in AB RISP the way it looks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Wonder why he was left off the list? Because we didn't check it twice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beck72 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Wonder why he was left off the list? Probably an oversight that should be pointed out to them so they can correct it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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