from Amazon
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Going the other way
More rolling sleeves work, as John gives us an insight into how hitters hit the other way through time.
A little nit: he shows how around 10% of HR used to go the other way. So, for every 9 HR pulled, 1 would go the other way. At one point in the mid 90s, it was 20%, or for every 11 HR pulled, 2.75 would go the other way. So, it’s possible that what Greg Maddux is quoted in the article as saying is correct, that the number of opposite field HR tripled. It’s just that the number of pulled HR also increased, but by only 20%.
And in the graphs where John splits by LHB/RHB, it’s also possible that you get different rates if you also include the pitcher’s hand (so, LH/LP, LH/RP and RH/LP, RH/RP) that might explain some of the gaps.
Regardless, great work.