MLB 2016

[TallTitan34]

I see your point, but Kenney and the Ricketts family had to sign-off on the Chapman acquisition.

No way Kenney had to sign off on Chapman.  Theo runs the baseball side and Kenney runs the business side.  They don't sign off on each others moves.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Addison Russell post All-Star break:

.283/.352/.543/.895 with 8 HRs and 31 RBIs (I know RBIs are a function of opportunity but that's still impressive).

Sample size caveats apply but combined with his defense he may be on the way to becoming a star at 22. 

[buckchuckler]

Addison Russell post All-Star break:
(I know RBIs are a function of opportunity but that's still impressive).

I think this gets overblown.  RBIs are a product of being a good hitter.  And being a good hitter in the right situation.  Some guys fail due to pressure, some are better due to pressure. 

Ozzie Smith had over 250 more ABs with RISP than Joe DiMaggio.  DiMaggio had over 300 more RBI in the 250 fewer attempts he had with RISP.

Those were the first 2 guys I checked.  I am sure there are hundreds more examples. 

[Lennys Tap]

I think this gets overblown.  RBIs are a product of being a good hitter.  And being a good hitter in the right situation.  Some guys fail due to pressure, some are better due to pressure. 

Ozzie Smith had over 250 more ABs with RISP than Joe DiMaggio.  DiMaggio had over 300 more RBI in the 250 fewer attempts he had with RISP.

Those were the first 2 guys I checked.  I am sure there are hundreds more examples.

I'm sure Joe DiMaggio was also a much better hitter than Ozzie Smith without RISP too - he was simply a much better hitter.

I'm not sure whether some guys are BETTER hitters under pressure or just immune to pressure. Given that so many choke under the bright lights it just may seem that way in comparison.

[GGGG]

Advanced stats people think that "clutch hitting" is almost entirely due to just being a good hitter.  And secondly due to luck.  And that that amount of hitters that truly are significantly statistically better are very few - something like 1% of everyone who played the game.

[Lennys Tap]

Advanced stats people think that "clutch hitting" is almost entirely due to just being a good hitter.  And secondly due to luck.  And that that amount of hitters that truly are significantly statistically better are very few - something like 1% of everyone who played the game.

How about the "choke factor"? Do they acknowledge it and, if so, how do they quantify it?

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I think this gets overblown.  RBIs are a product of being a good hitter.  And being a good hitter in the right situation.  Some guys fail due to pressure, some are better due to pressure. 

Ozzie Smith had over 250 more ABs with RISP than Joe DiMaggio.  DiMaggio had over 300 more RBI in the 250 fewer attempts he had with RISP.

Those were the first 2 guys I checked.  I am sure there are hundreds more examples.

I get your point but I still think they are also definitely a function of opportunity.  Now that he has moved up in the lineup and is hitting behind 4 guys with .380 OBPs or better, he is simply going to see more of an opportunity to drive in runs.  It also helps that he is hitting well lately but if he was still batting 7th or 8th he wouldn't drive in as many runs.   

[CTWarrior]

How about the "choke factor"? Do they acknowledge it and, if so, how do they quantify it?

When Mike Greenwell played for the Red Sox, he was a fantastic hitter.  But I used to hate to see him come up in a big spot because he ALWAYS swung at the first pitch in late and close situations and usually made weak contact because the pitchers knew it and he wasn't given good pitches to hit.

Statisticians are starting to come around to the idea that there may indeed be guys who are "clutch" hitters.  Just because it is difficult to parse out the data doesn't mean that the phenomenon does not exist.  People tend to hit for a higher average with men on base for several reasons (pitcher pitching out of the stretch instead of the wind up, fielders not in ideal defensive positions to keep the runners closer to the bags, sacrifice flies are not outs on your AVG, etc).

Anyway, the definition of a clutch situation is different for everybody.  It seems to me that patient hitters with a good command of the strike zone are the best guys to have up in big situations.  Ortiz has been as clutch as anybody in big spots and it seems that he rarely chases bad balls when the game is on the line.  He more likely to get called out on a borderline pitch than to chase one out of the zone with the game on the line.

[buckchuckler]

So, I would definitely say that Ichiro was a better hitter than Adam Dunn.  I assume there is no disagreement there.

Adam Dunn hit with runners in scoring position 1770 times.  He drove in 699 runs in those situations.

Ichiro hit with RISP 1793 times (that is more opportunities for the guy that is clearly the better hitter).  Ichiro drove in 608 runs.

He is a better hitter, has had more opportunities, and driven in fewer runs.  Maybe Dunn was better at driving in runs.  I don't see how else that makes sense. 

[buckchuckler]

As you may know I am a Sox fan.  And as such I realized throughout his career that Joe Crede was a good clutch hitter. 

Joe Crede was not near as good a hitter in not clutch situations. 

With RISP he hit .278 for his career.  With no one one he hit .239.

So he hit 40 points higher with RISP.  Seems like quite a lot of luck. 

[brandx]

I think this gets overblown.  RBIs are a product of being a good hitter.  And being a good hitter in the right situation.  Some guys fail due to pressure, some are better due to pressure. 

Ozzie Smith had over 250 more ABs with RISP than Joe DiMaggio.  DiMaggio had over 300 more RBI in the 250 fewer attempts he had with RISP.

Those were the first 2 guys I checked.  I am sure there are hundreds more examples.

RBIs are a product of opportunity as much or more than from being a good hitter.

[MerrittsMustache]

When Mike Greenwell played for the Red Sox, he was a fantastic hitter.  But I used to hate to see him come up in a big spot because he ALWAYS swung at the first pitch in late and close situations and usually made weak contact because the pitchers knew it and he wasn't given good pitches to hit.

Statisticians are starting to come around to the idea that there may indeed be guys who are "clutch" hitters.  Just because it is difficult to parse out the data doesn't mean that the phenomenon does not exist.  People tend to hit for a higher average with men on base for several reasons (pitcher pitching out of the stretch instead of the wind up, fielders not in ideal defensive positions to keep the runners closer to the bags, sacrifice flies are not outs on your AVG, etc).

Anyway, the definition of a clutch situation is different for everybody.  It seems to me that patient hitters with a good command of the strike zone are the best guys to have up in big situations.  Ortiz has been as clutch as anybody in big spots and it seems that he rarely chases bad balls when the game is on the line.  He more likely to get called out on a borderline pitch than to chase one out of the zone with the game on the line.

A lot of being "clutch" also has to do with reputation and perception.

Ortiz is considered clutch because he had some huge hits, particularly in the postseason, 2 WS MVP awards and he had a monstrously clutch 2005 season (3.36). However, according to FanGraphs' "Clutch" statistic, he's in the Poor to Awful range for his entire career (-1.31). He's put up a positive Clutch number in just 7 of his 20 seasons.

(http://www.fangraphs.com/library/misc/clutch/)

On the contrary, Mike Greenwell's career clutch number is 2.26 (Excellent). Although, he had a very anti-clutch 1990 season (-1.46) which included going 0 for 14 on the big stage of the ALCS.

[MerrittsMustache]

So, I would definitely say that Ichiro was a better hitter than Adam Dunn.  I assume there is no disagreement there.

Adam Dunn hit with runners in scoring position 1770 times.  He drove in 699 runs in those situations.

Ichiro hit with RISP 1793 times (that is more opportunities for the guy that is clearly the better hitter).  Ichiro drove in 608 runs.

He is a better hitter, has had more opportunities, and driven in fewer runs.  Maybe Dunn was better at driving in runs.  I don't see how else that makes sense.

110 of those runs driven in by Dunn were him driving himself in with a HR.

Ichiro hit 18 HR in his 1793 RISP ABs.

You could say that Ichiro drove home 590 runners other than himself while Dunn only drove in...589. Hang on, that still makes Dunn better in my made up statistic because he's had fewer ABs. Um...nevermind.

[buckchuckler]

110 of those runs driven in by Dunn were him driving himself in with a HR.

Ichiro hit 18 HR in his 1793 RISP ABs.

You could say that Ichiro drove home 590 runners other than himself while Dunn only drove in...589. Hang on, that still makes Dunn better in my made up statistic because he's had fewer ABs. Um...nevermind.

Ichiro also hit 76 points higher for his career.  So if they had similar opportunities, and you take out Dunn's power (which negates the opportunities is the only thing that matters argument anyway) you would still expect Ichiro to drive in more of those runs.  For some reason he didn't.

[MerrittsMustache]

Ichiro also hit 76 points higher for his career.  So if they had similar opportunities, and you take out Dunn's power (which negates the opportunities is the only thing that matters argument anyway) you would still expect Ichiro to drive in more of those runs.  For some reason he didn't.

Add to it that Dunn hit .226 with RISP while Ichiro hit .307.

[🏀]

Add to it that Dunn hit .226 with RISP while Ichiro hit .307.

Doesn't this prove that RBIs are opportunity based?

[brandx]

So, I would definitely say that Ichiro was a better hitter than Adam Dunn.  I assume there is no disagreement there.

Adam Dunn hit with runners in scoring position 1770 times.  He drove in 699 runs in those situations.

Ichiro hit with RISP 1793 times (that is more opportunities for the guy that is clearly the better hitter).  Ichiro drove in 608 runs.

He is a better hitter, has had more opportunities, and driven in fewer runs.  Maybe Dunn was better at driving in runs.  I don't see how else that makes sense.

To be clear, I assume we are talking about how many opportunities Dunn and Ichiro had - not the number of runners in scoring position in their ABs.

If that is the case, then Dunn would have had many more actual runners in scoring position to start with. Don't know where to find exact stats on that, but if you just go by averages, it would be the case.

Ichiro had the 7, 8, and 9 hitters setting the table. Dunn had the 1, 2, and 3 hitters. For that the stats are very conclusive. Dunn would have a lot more runners on base.

[MUsoxfan]

White Sox now have one of the top 3 worst stadium names in sports

[buckchuckler]

To be clear, I assume we are talking about how many opportunities Dunn and Ichiro had - not the number of runners in scoring position in their ABs.

If that is the case, then Dunn would have had many more actual runners in scoring position to start with. Don't know where to find exact stats on that, but if you just go by averages, it would be the case.

Ichiro had the 7, 8, and 9 hitters setting the table. Dunn had the 1, 2, and 3 hitters. For that the stats are very conclusive. Dunn would have a lot more runners on base.

Dunn hit with runners on 2nd 8 more times.  Runners on third 2 more times.  Ichiro hit with runners on 2nd and 3rd 28 more times and Dunn hit with them loaded 10 more times.

 

[TallTitan34]

White Sox now have one of the top 3 worst stadium names in sports

The logo for the company doesn't help either...

[Pakuni]

White Sox now have one of the top 3 worst stadium names in sports

It's terrible, but pick which two are better:

Smoothie King Center
KFC Yum! Center
Sleep Train Arena
Jobing.com Arena

[buckchuckler]

Doesn't this prove that RBIs are opportunity based?

Robin Ventura hit .340 with the bases loaded.  He was a .267 career hitter.  Seems clutch. 

Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson had simliar averages with RISP.  Robinson had 400 more ABs.  Their RBI numbers in those situations were not quite identical, but pretty close. Schmidt had 1055 RBI in 2361 ABs.  Robinson had  1063 in 2738.  Why wouldn't Robinson's lead be more significant if it were all about opportunity?

Lou Gehrig had 1331 ABs with RISP.  He knocked in 816 runs in those opportunities. 

That is ridiculous.  That ratio is astronomical.  Seems pretty clutch. 

There are hundreds more.  Opportunities certainly play an important role.  So does staying calm under pressure, or even thriving under pressure.  So does hitting home runs.  So does hitting doubles.  So does being able to hit fly balls.  If not, every guy with 1500 ABS (crude adjustment for Gehrig having a better BA than most) would have about 800 RBIs in those opportunities.  The fact of the matter is, just about no one does.

[brandx]

Robin Ventura hit .340 with the bases loaded.  He was a .267 career hitter.  Seems clutch. 

I believe there are over 40 players hitting over .400 w/ bases loaded this year. In fact, there are 10 teams that have a higher BA with bases loaded than ANY team does with the bases empty. When you look at BA with runners in scoring position, not one single team has a batting average average higher than the top team with the bases empty.

My guess is that every single year, teams hit for a considerably higher average when the bases are loaded. That is not a "clutch" stat. It really is easier to hit with the bases loaded than in any other situation, except for maybe a 3-1 count.

Batters see a lot more strikes when there are no open bases. Pitchers can't afford to throw 4 balls off the edge of the plate hoping you go fishing.

[SoCalEagle]

It's terrible, but pick which two are better:

Smoothie King Center
KFC Yum! Center
Sleep Train Arena
Jobing.com Arena

Don't forget Jenny Craig center.

[Dr. Blackheart]

It's terrible, but pick which two are better:

Smoothie King Center
KFC Yum! Center
Sleep Train Arena
Jobing.com Arena

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/11-weirdest-stadium-names