SuperFan17
04-01-2015, 05:16 PM
I found this article refreshing, because well, selfishly, it pretty much summed up exactly some of my points with regards to the detriment of striking out as well as productive outs.
Enjoy
http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview15/story/_/id/12592577/ten-ways-boost-offense
Baseball teams scored an average of 4.07 runs per game last year, more than one run fewer than they averaged in 2000. It also was Major League Baseball's lowest scoring average since 1981 and the same rate teams averaged way back in 1969. Batters also struck out a record 37,441 times, more than 15 times per game, an 18 percent increase from just a decade ago. The major league batting average of .251 was the lowest since 1972.
Why? Teams are employing defensive shifts. Umpires are calling lower strikes. And pitchers are throwing harder than ever.
Shocking.
How Hitters Can Help Themselves
1. Cut the Strikeouts --
Some may consider a strikeout just another out, but it isn't, providing no opportunity to move up a runner. Swinging and missing also gives you no chance at getting on base whatsoever. Making contact does.
2. Beat the Shift
"All you have to do [as a left-handed hitter] is hit the ball to shortstop twice in a series, and they won't use the shift anymore,'' Brett said. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. If they had put three guys on one side of the infield against me, I could have hit .450. Because I could hit a ball to the shortstop anytime I wanted. And when I see these teams put the shift on and guys still hit into the shift, these guys all have to go to the doctor and get a lobotomy because they're playing into the team's strength."
3. Know Thyself --
"Hitting is a tough thing to do," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "What we've taught even young kids is a little out of whack. I think we've gotten away from teaching hitting right. We need to teach guys to use the whole field, to keep the bat in the strike zone. As you get closer to the big leagues, approach is so important. If you can't make adjustments up there, if you don't understand what you do as a hitter and understand what the pitcher does and how to attack that, you're in trouble.
Enjoy
http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview15/story/_/id/12592577/ten-ways-boost-offense
Baseball teams scored an average of 4.07 runs per game last year, more than one run fewer than they averaged in 2000. It also was Major League Baseball's lowest scoring average since 1981 and the same rate teams averaged way back in 1969. Batters also struck out a record 37,441 times, more than 15 times per game, an 18 percent increase from just a decade ago. The major league batting average of .251 was the lowest since 1972.
Why? Teams are employing defensive shifts. Umpires are calling lower strikes. And pitchers are throwing harder than ever.
Shocking.
How Hitters Can Help Themselves
1. Cut the Strikeouts --
Some may consider a strikeout just another out, but it isn't, providing no opportunity to move up a runner. Swinging and missing also gives you no chance at getting on base whatsoever. Making contact does.
2. Beat the Shift
"All you have to do [as a left-handed hitter] is hit the ball to shortstop twice in a series, and they won't use the shift anymore,'' Brett said. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. If they had put three guys on one side of the infield against me, I could have hit .450. Because I could hit a ball to the shortstop anytime I wanted. And when I see these teams put the shift on and guys still hit into the shift, these guys all have to go to the doctor and get a lobotomy because they're playing into the team's strength."
3. Know Thyself --
"Hitting is a tough thing to do," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "What we've taught even young kids is a little out of whack. I think we've gotten away from teaching hitting right. We need to teach guys to use the whole field, to keep the bat in the strike zone. As you get closer to the big leagues, approach is so important. If you can't make adjustments up there, if you don't understand what you do as a hitter and understand what the pitcher does and how to attack that, you're in trouble.