from Amazon
Monday, June 08, 2009
Batted ball distance of Ortiz is way way down
I have to believe that this is a great indicator, more than anything:
David Ortiz—Average Distance (feet)
Season Liners Fliners Flies
2007 205 302 310
2008 214 296 275
2009 158 278 261
Using the other numbers Dewan published, the average distance of an airball (non-groundball) hit by David Ortiz each year:
2007 290 feet
2008 273 feet
2009 254 feet
Yowza. A drop of 18 feet per season. If I had to guess, I would have said that the average drop for a player in his early 30s would be 5 feet per season. I would not be surprised if it was only 2-3 feet, and I would not be surprised if it was 6-8 feet. Anything more than 10 feet would be a shock to me.
A 36-foot drop over a 2-year time period?