Jump to content

Goodbye Home Run! First Pitch Homers.

schittenden

By schittenden
in Orioles Talk

Recommended Posts

schittenden Hangout Grand Counsel

schittenden

Posted
Posted

As those of us who follow the game threads know, there is much gnashing of teeth and lamenting the Orioles tendency to swing at the first pitch they see.  Jones and Schoop seem to be frequent targets of complaints, particularly when they pop it up or ground out weakly.  Inspired by Jones' first-pitch HR last night off of Scherzer, I thought I'd look at our results this year and see how often that tendency pays off in a big way.  Through last night, the Orioles have sent 41 baseballs over the outfield wall.  Of those, 13 souvenirs were served up on a first-pitch swing.  In other words, nearly 32% of our home runs to date (31.7%) are on the first pitch of an at-bat.  Given that the Orioles have averaged 3.79 pitches per plate appearance, the random chance of a home run having been hit on any particular pitch would seem to be about 26.4%.  It seems to me that the team is more likely to hit a home run on the first pitch than they are on any random pitch.  Of the 41 total home runs, 22 have been in situations where the Orioles were there count was even, so roughly 60% of the even-count home runs have come on the first pitch of an at bat. Somewhat oddly, the Orioles have managed to hit only 7 home runs when ahead in the count, compared to 12 home runs when they were behind in the count.  That may reflect their tendency to get behind in the county more than anything else though.  

Among the Os with a first-pitch HR, the first-pitch HR ratio varies across players from 12.5% for Manny to 100% to Castillo, Gentry, and Joseph (one HR will do that to you).  Two of Jones' 5 homers have come on the first pitch and 3 of Schoop's 5 have come on the first pitch.  Given their tendency to swing freely at pitches out of the zone when they are behind in the count, maybe it benefits them to swing at the first pitch, which may be one of the best opportunities they have to drive the ball.

For what it's worth, the Orioles have the second-highest number of first-pitch HRs this year at 13.  The Rangers are way out in front with 19.  Of interest, the Astros have 12 and the Cubs and Yankees both have 11.  Nearly 40 percent (38%) of the Ranger's home runs have come on the first pitch (maybe throw them one out of the zone on the first pitch when we play them).  The Astros are at 26.7%; the Cubs at 28.9%; and the Yankees are at 21.2%.  As you'd expect teams known for patience tend to have lower percentages (like the Red Sox, who can't seem to hit many home runs at all so far).  

It is hard to draw too many conclusions from this given all of the other variables for which I have not controlled. In any event, I thought the numbers were interesting.  

For those that are curious:

Machado 8 1 12.5%
Mancini 7 2 28.6%
Jones 5 2 40.0%
Schoop 5 3 60.0%
Davis 4 2 50.0%
Castillo 1 1 100.0%
Gentry 1 1 100.0%
Joseph 1 1 100.0%

 

Texas 50 19 38.0%
Houston 45 12 26.7%
Cubs 38 11 28.9%
Yankees 52 11 21.2%
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

Posted
Posted

Nice research.   As someone noted in the game thread on Monday, it's funny how nobody complains about swinging at the first pitch when the ball goes flying out of the ballpark.   Personally, I like the Ted Williams first-pitch approach: look for a pitch in the zones you can hit well, and if they're there, go for it, but lay off the ones that are strikes but not in the parts of the zone where you hit well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
weams Hangout Grand Counsel

weams

Posted
Posted
42 minutes ago, schittenden said:

As those of us who follow the game threads know, there is much gnashing of teeth and lamenting the Orioles tendency to swing at the first pitch they see.  Jones and Schoop seem to be frequent targets of complaints, particularly when they pop it up or ground out weakly.  Inspired by Jones' first-pitch HR last night off of Scherzer, I thought I'd look at our results this year and see how often that tendency pays off in a big way.  Through last night, the Orioles have sent 41 baseballs over the outfield wall.  Of those, 13 souvenirs were served up on a first-pitch swing.  In other words, nearly 32% of our home runs to date (31.7%) are on the first pitch of an at-bat.  Given that the Orioles have averaged 3.79 pitches per plate appearance, the random chance of a home run having been hit on any particular pitch would seem to be about 26.4%.  It seems to me that the team is more likely to hit a home run on the first pitch than they are on any random pitch.  Of the 41 total home runs, 22 have been in situations where the Orioles were there count was even, so roughly 60% of the even-count home runs have come on the first pitch of an at bat. Somewhat oddly, the Orioles have managed to hit only 7 home runs when ahead in the count, compared to 12 home runs when they were behind in the count.  That may reflect their tendency to get behind in the county more than anything else though.  

Among the Os with a first-pitch HR, the first-pitch HR ratio varies across players from 12.5% for Manny to 100% to Castillo, Gentry, and Joseph (one HR will do that to you).  Two of Jones' 5 homers have come on the first pitch and 3 of Schoop's 5 have come on the first pitch.  Given their tendency to swing freely at pitches out of the zone when they are behind in the count, maybe it benefits them to swing at the first pitch, which may be one of the best opportunities they have to drive the ball.

For what it's worth, the Orioles have the second-highest number of first-pitch HRs this year at 13.  The Rangers are way out in front with 19.  Of interest, the Astros have 12 and the Cubs and Yankees both have 11.  Nearly 40 percent (38%) of the Ranger's home runs have come on the first pitch (maybe throw them one out of the zone on the first pitch when we play them).  The Astros are at 26.7%; the Cubs at 28.9%; and the Yankees are at 21.2%.  As you'd expect teams known for patience tend to have lower percentages (like the Red Sox, who can't seem to hit many home runs at all so far).  

It is hard to draw too many conclusions from this given all of the other variables for which I have not controlled. In any event, I thought the numbers were interesting.  

For those that are curious:

Machado 8 1 12.5%
Mancini 7 2 28.6%
Jones 5 2 40.0%
Schoop 5 3 60.0%
Davis 4 2 50.0%
Castillo 1 1 100.0%
Gentry 1 1 100.0%
Joseph 1 1 100.0%

 

Texas 50 19 38.0%
Houston 45 12 26.7%
Cubs 38 11 28.9%
Yankees 52 11 21.2%

HHP, Front Page

Link to comment
Share on other sites
schittenden Hangout Grand Counsel

schittenden

Posted
  • Author
Posted
15 minutes ago, BarclaySouthway said:

Wow, 

Wow!  Never mind then.  1.6% last year. 7 times in 438 PAs.

(Actually that just for balls put in play, Doh.)

It's possible I botched those numbers as I ran it on my phone. You should double check the percentage for this year. The website is harder to use on my phone. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thezeroes Major Leaguer Rising Star

thezeroes

Posted
Posted

As of this morning, May 9, 2017, there have been 1153 homeruns hit in MLB.  Of these 1153, 213 were on the first pitch or 18.5% of all Home-Runs are hit on the first pitch.

3 lead off a game

3 ended a game

65 were go ahead run

21 were tying

Link to comment
Share on other sites
schittenden Hangout Grand Counsel

schittenden

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, thezeroes said:

As of this morning, May 9, 2017, there have been 1153 homeruns hit in MLB.  Of these 1153, 213 were on the first pitch or 18.5% of all Home-Runs are hit on the first pitch.

3 lead off a game

3 ended a game

65 were go ahead run

21 were tying

So, the Orioles are better than average at hitting first-pitch home runs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing


×
×
  • Create New...