Is platooning overrated?

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, HandsomeQuack said:

Well yeah, hitters that are good against lefties and righties are better than hitters that can only hit one or the other. But players from the former category are harder to get and so if you have a deep roster of hitters, there will be some spots where a platoon makes sense.

The question was whether platooning is overrated and the answer is no.

My answer is yes.

[Sanfran327]

I think the 2023 Orioles were a perfect case study in how platooning is great in the regular season, but not so great in the postseason. 

Then again, the Braves and Dodgers had early postseason exits, and they probably had more superstar power than we did. 

[TommyPickles]

I don't think it is overrated, but I think some guys do better than others when it comes to inconsistent playtime.

[Frobby]

On 3/10/2024 at 8:39 PM, Sanfran327 said:

I think the 2023 Orioles were a perfect case study in how platooning is great in the regular season, but not so great in the postseason. 

Then again, the Braves and Dodgers had early postseason exits, and they probably had more superstar power than we did. 

The Orioles hit lefties better than righties in the ALDS.   But I reject any conclusions drawn from a three-game series.  Just not enough data there.  I do think starters pitch fewer innings in the playoffs so there’s more opportunity to defeat players with big platoon splits.  

[Sanfran327]

15 hours ago, Frobby said:

The Orioles hit lefties better than righties in the ALDS.   But I reject any conclusions drawn from a three-game series.  Just not enough data there.  I do think starters pitch fewer innings in the playoffs so there’s more opportunity to defeat players with big platoon splits.  

Yes, small sample size, but your final point is the main one. Games are managed differently in the postseason. You generally only have 2 games in a row, so you can virtually empty the tank every night in the playoffs. Typically, the big playoff performers are hitters that don't have massive splits, pitchers that don't have massive splits (and starters that can go deep into games), and then the guys that just catch fire at the right time. Having a lineup heavily featuring platoon guys allows the opposing manager to do exactly what Bochy did to us last year: start a guy that will exploit the platoon weaknesses in your lineup for 2 turns through it, then flip to an opposite handed pitcher that will do the same thing to your B lineup for another 2 turns through it. Build a lead early, then slam the door with your three best relievers. 

Three games is certainly nothing definitive, but we saw what we saw. Again, Atlanta and LA didn't do much with their superstar lineups either. Plus our bats were cooling off all September anyway. 

[RZNJ]

On 3/10/2024 at 1:00 PM, Can_of_corn said:

I'd rather just have talented hitters and pitchers.

Is platooning overrated?   Must be a tough question.   It's not overrated if you have the personnel where it works and makes sense.

[interloper]

I loved the Mounty/O'Hearn 1B platoon last year. 

I didn't love McKenna and McCann and Mateo getting starts against LHP. 

So it depends. 

[Frobby]

23 minutes ago, Sanfran327 said:

Yes, small sample size, but your final point is the main one. Games are managed differently in the postseason. You generally only have 2 games in a row, so you can virtually empty the tank every night in the playoffs. Typically, the big playoff performers are hitters that don't have massive splits, pitchers that don't have massive splits (and starters that can go deep into games), and then the guys that just catch fire at the right time. Having a lineup heavily featuring platoon guys allows the opposing manager to do exactly what Bochy did to us last year: start a guy that will exploit the platoon weaknesses in your lineup for 2 turns through it, then flip to an opposite handed pitcher that will do the same thing to your B lineup for another 2 turns through it. Build a lead early, then slam the door with your three best relievers. 

Three games is certainly nothing definitive, but we saw what we saw. Again, Atlanta and LA didn't do much with their superstar lineups either. Plus our bats were cooling off all September anyway. 

Do you think our players have massive platoon splits, compared to most teams’ players?   I really don’t see it, though Mountcastle’s splits last year were much more extreme than in the rest of his career.  

[Sanfran327]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

Do you think our players have massive platoon splits, compared to most teams’ players?   I really don’t see it, though Mountcastle’s splits last year were much more extreme than in the rest of his career.  

I don't honestly know off hand. But as I recall, we routinely rolled out distinctively different lineups vs LHP and RHPs. We have a few switch hitters, so that helps, but for instance, Mullins, Henderson, and O'Hearn didn't seem to get a ton of ABs vs LHPs, and Mountcastle, Urias, and Westburg seemed to sit a lot vs RHPs. 

Is that a lot compared to most? Couldn't tell you. But my gut tells me that Hyde liked to play the percentages and shuffled the lineup based on the opposing SP. Everyone does that. Did we do it more than others? I don't know. But I know we did it better than everyone else. Or at least that's what 101 wins tells me. 

And I'm not suggesting that we stop doing it. Just that it seems to have strengths and weaknesses, and that it feels like it probably works a bit differently over a marathon regular season vs the sprint of a postseason series.