Annual "Hard Hit Balls" stat. Ranking of all MLB Teams.

[cezero]

I think some might see this as the magical/mystical "bad luck" stupidity that I hear every year.

I think most understand that there is subtle and not-so-subtle shifting that goes on for every single hitter, both in the infield and outfield. How hard the ball is hit matters much less if it's hit in a predictable pattern. I'd like to see a metric for that.

 

[unlvmariners]

I think most understand that there is subtle and not-so-subtle shifting that goes on for every single hitter, both in the infield and outfield. How hard the ball is hit matters much less if it's hit in a predictable pattern. I'd like to see a metric for that.

Exactly... Hitting the ball hard is a good thing, but the more important thing is hitting the ball where it isn't going to get caught. Something you will notice about this "hard hit balls" stat is that the Mariners still are 25th in baseball for avg.

 

[cezero]

M's are middle of the pack for giving up hard hit balls. That's a little encouraging considering how awful the pitching has been, really.

 

[blstoker]

I don't care about "hard hit" or "soft hit" balls. I just want hit balls. The M's are batting .308 when they don't strike out.

Strike outs have gotten out of hand. Since 2010, the # of strike outs per American League team has been 1087, 1113, 1187, 1222 & 1216. These are the top 5 numbers all time, and the AL is on pace for 1200 again this year. There's just too many players who strike out over 40% of the time (and Zunino is 6th in strike out percentage with 40.8, among players with 70 or more at bats). Hell, Carlos Peguero strikes out more than 50% of the time. Players need to learn to make contact, not to see how far they can hit the ball.

 

[Davis_Mike]

Interesting, but not really useful.

My dad & coaches always told us "hit it where they ain't". Ball placement, much of the time, is more important that how hard you hit the ball.

 

[cezero]

Interesting, but not really useful.

My dad & coaches always told us "hit it where they ain't". Ball placement, much of the time, is more important that how hard you hit the ball.

Exactly what I meant, bu you phrased it better.

 

[Davis_Mike]

I think infield shifting is the most interesting development in baseball over the last few years. The Dbacks have heavily relied on advanced metrics & shifting this year. Second most shifts, either way, in baseball. On pace for 2.6 x as many as last season. So, even though they give up the second most hard hit balls, they are only ranked 23rd in avg against.

That tells me that A: Our pitching sucks & B: our fielders are being positioned correctly a lot of the time.

 

[unlvmariners]

Interesting, but not really useful.

My dad & coaches always told us "hit it where they ain't". Ball placement, much of the time, is more important that how hard you hit the ball.

completely agree

 

[NWinAZ]

My thought was mentioned above and that is hard hit rate only applies to balls hit. We have hackers and they can smack a ball...when they make contact. When you have guys around 35%-45% in non-contact rates, then your numbers get flawed.

I like the post, but like most stats there are always flaws. Eye test is still the best method and they are killing my eyes once again.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I'm pretty sure the Mariners were in the top for this metric last year as well and it didn't even out over time. I recall seeing the argument being used to defend Kyle Seager's struggles last year, and he turned it around, but not so much for the rest of the team.