Something that’s been driving me crazy this week

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Finisher said:

I mean, they deadened the ball. And a lot of guys changed their swings because of the launch angle revolution and the juiced balls the last couple years made that work but now they're kinda stuck. Offense is down league wide and no hitters are a nightly possibility. And of course our talent level is bottom barrel.

I don’t think they’ve deadened the ball that much.  At the current pace, AL HR/game would be the 8th highest in league history.   Strikeouts are the big issue IMO.    Palmer said he thinks the biggest cause of the rise in strikeouts is foreign substances on the ball causing spin rate increases.  
 

[Explosivo]

Just now, MurphDogg said:

Yeah, either enforce the ban or establish legal "grip enhancers" and ban the rest. Otherwise it is an arms race.

And that would tarnish many pitchers the same way the steroid era tarnished many juicers.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Explosivo said:

And that would tarnish many pitchers the same way the steroid era tarnished many juicers.

Is that worse than players and managers openly talking about how MLB is ignoring the issue?

[HowAboutThat]

47 minutes ago, Finisher said:

Yep, you would've been a fool not to adjust. MLB should just ban the shift and use balls somewhere in between this year's variety and the past couple years.

Banning the shift is bad. Teaching bunting against the shift is good

[HowAboutThat]

I think it just comes down to ultimately, analytics and research information are Benefiting pitching more than it benefits hitting. I remember back in the 70s, when Jim Kern was An outstanding reliever for the Rangers, and he threw about 93 miles an hour. What could Mike Wright have done back then, with a 98 mile an hour fastball, even if it is straight as a string? Nobody would be able to hit it.

Pitching has advanced faster than Hitting ability to keep up. There are solutions but we shouldn’t consider any fundamental changes to the game.

[jdwilde1]

I remember back in the 70s, when Jim Kern was An outstanding reliever for the Rangers, and he threw about 93 miles an hour. What could Mike Wright have done back then, with a 98 mile an hour fastball, even if it is straight as a string? Nobody would be able to hit it.
 

A 93 mph fastball in the 1970s would be measured in the upper 90s today.  Reason being is that radar guns used to record the velocity of the ball much closer to home plate.  Now, they are recorded almost immediately after leaving the pitcher’s hand.  BA has a free article on the subject, which is linked below.  Also, the topic is covered in the movie Fastball (highly recommended).

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/the-measure-of-a-fastball-has-changed-over-the-years/
 

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by jdwilde1
Added quote. Did not work in initial post.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, jdwilde1 said:

A 93 mph fastball in the 1970s would be measured in the upper 90s today.  Reason being is that radar guns used to record the velocity of the ball much closer to home plate.  Now, they are recorded almost immediately after leaving the pitcher’s hand.  BA has a free article on the subject, which is linked below.  Also, the topic is covered in the movie Fastball (highly recommended).

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/the-measure-of-a-fastball-has-changed-over-the-years/
 

 

Yep.  Guys are throwing harder but not to the extent that the raw numbers we digest would indicate.

[Frobby]

35 minutes ago, Philip said:

Banning the shift is bad. Teaching bunting against the shift is good

Even just slapping a hard grounder the opposite way would be good.   

[Explosivo]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Even just slapping a hard grounder the opposite way would be good.   

That’s what I’m saying. How hard is it to teach a pull hitter to just take what the defense is giving you? These guys are major leaguers. I get that hitting is all about timing, but can’t you just swing to two different beats? One for power, but when down 0-2 in the count, take the free base and hit it where they ain’t.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

9 minutes ago, Explosivo said:

That’s what I’m saying. How hard is it to teach a pull hitter to just take what the defense is giving you? These guys are major leaguers. I get that hitting is all about timing, but can’t you just swing to two different beats? One for power, but when down 0-2 in the count, take the free base and hit it where they ain’t.

I've brought this up before, but what would coaches today do with players like Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Rod Carew and their approach to hitting. Would they try to change their swing and gripe about them hitting so many "useless" singles, obsess on launch angles and alter their swings. Or would they let them hit they way they wanted as long as it worked and put up numbers. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I've brought this up before, but what would coaches today do with players like Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Rod Carew and their approach to hitting. Would they try to change their swing and gripe about them hitting so many "useless" singles, obsess on launch angles and alter their swings. Or would they let them hit they way they wanted as long as it worked and put up numbers. 

Would their approach work in today's game?

You think Gwynn could hit .338 today?

[HowAboutThat]

49 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I've brought this up before, but what would coaches today do with players like Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Rod Carew and their approach to hitting. Would they try to change their swing and gripe about them hitting so many "useless" singles, obsess on launch angles and alter their swings. Or would they let them hit they way they wanted as long as it worked and put up numbers. 

Ichiro had something like 30 career home runs....but he was pretty good...

[Explosivo]

1 hour ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I've brought this up before, but what would coaches today do with players like Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Rod Carew and their approach to hitting. Would they try to change their swing and gripe about them hitting so many "useless" singles, obsess on launch angles and alter their swings. Or would they let them hit they way they wanted as long as it worked and put up numbers. 

I wish we could get an answer from current and former batting coaches on this. It'd be very interesting to hear from a professional, their take on all of this. As a fan, it's baffling. Perhaps it's how teams draft these days and which players move up and have more value than others. For example, if players know the only way to crack the lineup is by hitting a homerun, that's all they will focus on. I don't blame them. I blame what the game has become to incentivize that behavior. Perhaps guys like Gwynn, Boggs and Carew would be looked at as AAAA types that would never land a spot in a lineup consistently. I honestly don't know. 

 

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, Explosivo said:

That’s what I’m saying. How hard is it to teach a pull hitter to just take what the defense is giving you?

It’s probably harder than we think.   I’ve never tried to hit some guy who throws 95 and has two other nasty pitches.   

[sevastras]

I was thinking this week that Davis might actually not look as terrible this year(Not that I want him in the lineup).  I was looking at averages across the league because Machado is batting .228 but his ops is .726. 

league wide average is down, steals are down, caught stealing down(makes sense), sacrifices are way down, HR up, Hbp up, double plays down. 
 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/bat.shtml