I Refuse to Use Swing, Swing Because Some Crappy Band is Famous for It
by R.J. Anderson on Sep 12, 2008 3:44 PM EDT
32 comments
Some time has passed since we last checked who were the hackers and who were the discplined batters on our little ball team. Because I'm slowly moving into the visual presentation world more so than tables I decided to make a colorful bar graph to reflect the data and a point for me.
Click for a larger view. The seemingly random yellow bar just below the 75% tick represents league average for percentage of balls seen outside of the strike zone that players did not swing at. The maroon-ish color on each bar is the player's O-Swing% (available at FanGraphs) and the blue is "O-Take%" or O-Swing% subtracted from 100. It's not a real statistic in the sense that you can find it listed, but rather a simple modification to the current statistic that probably gives a better understanding of what is "good" and what is "bad".
For the most part we have an above average roster when it comes to taking bad pitches. Only Jason Bartlet, Rocco Baldelli (SSS), Shawn Riggans, and Cliff Floyd rank below 74% and none rank below 70%. Nobody likes it when lovers fight, whether it be Britney Spears and Kevin Federline or Jeff Garcia and Jon Gruden which is why it's encouraging that Upton is so damn good at taking bad pitches and Gross, Iwamura, and Zobrist are all below the 20% swing proportion.
For those who want the table form:
| Player | O-Swing% | O-Take% |
|---|---|---|
| Upton | 14.81 | 85.19 |
| Gross | 17.85 | 82.15 |
| Iwamura | 18.34 | 81.66 |
| Zobrist | 19.82 | 80.18 |
| Pena | 20.96 | 79.04 |
| Aybar | 22.05 | 77.95 |
| Navarro | 22.97 | 77.03 |
| Hinske | 23.74 | 76.26 |
| Longoria | 25.33 | 74.67 |
| Bartlett | 26.45 | 73.55 |
| Baldelli | 26.67 | 73.33 |
| Riggans | 27.34 | 72.66 |
| Floyd | 28.85 | 71.15 |
0 recs |
32 comments
Email
Print
Comments
Thanks for putting this togther R.J.
Although, the graphic is a bit confusing to me. If you have time, could you also drop the raw data (numbers) somewhere in this post?
Thanks.
by plasticman on Sep 12, 2008 3:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
So this is the percentage of pitches batters swing at outside the strike zone?
by rays1234 on Sep 12, 2008 3:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Purely out of curiosity
Where would Delmon Young rank on that chart?
Vogt early, Vogt often.
by Brickhaus on Sep 12, 2008 4:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This season: 39.7 O-Swing%
So he would be at the very bottom. Last year 41.33%, he would not be listed under the current scale.
by R.J. Anderson on Sep 12, 2008 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
while I like having both the maroon and blue, people might be confused at having both shown
you really just need the blue — the fewer balls swung at, the better.
nice job with the yellow bar
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
by Sky Kalkman on Sep 12, 2008 4:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Was I the only one not confused?
Dear god NO DAN JOHNSON - thebaddancingraysfan hours before DanJo hit a game tying HR off Papelbon.
by Vin on Sep 12, 2008 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Placement is the key.
Dear god NO DAN JOHNSON - thebaddancingraysfan hours before DanJo hit a game tying HR off Papelbon.
by Vin on Sep 12, 2008 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The placement, TWMI as well.
And I think mine is fine, but it’ll get fine-tuned through use.
by kericr on Sep 12, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it works better as a stand-alone.
Meh, we’ll figure it out.
Dear god NO DAN JOHNSON - thebaddancingraysfan hours before DanJo hit a game tying HR off Papelbon.
by Vin on Sep 12, 2008 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i'm a big fan of present data visually, by the way. nice work.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
by Sky Kalkman on Sep 12, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
UPDATING with lineups:
Rays
Iwamura 2B
Zobrist SS
Pena 1B
Floyd DH
Aybar 3B
Hinske LF
Navarro C
Gross RF
Perez CF
Garza P
Yankees
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Molina C
Ponson P
9 = 8
by walkoffwalk on Sep 12, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
why would you post that here?
Dear god NO DAN JOHNSON - thebaddancingraysfan hours before DanJo hit a game tying HR off Papelbon.
by Vin on Sep 12, 2008 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
cause i thought you guys would be interested in the lineup and there was no gameday thread. guess not.
9 = 8
by walkoffwalk on Sep 12, 2008 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You couldn't wait for the GDT?
Dear god NO DAN JOHNSON - thebaddancingraysfan hours before DanJo hit a game tying HR off Papelbon.
by Vin on Sep 12, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is fun to look at.
Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans
BELIEVE in 08!
by SRQman on Sep 12, 2008 5:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Where would Crawford fall in this chart?
He seems to swing at (and hit) a lot of bad pitches.
BTW, any news on his return?
by CJR on Sep 12, 2008 9:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Pretty cool. How about the inverse?
Or converse, or whatever… strikes taken? This graph shows tendencies of players to make guys throw strikes. But what about batters’ tendencies to do the opposite, allow a pitcher to expand the strike zone by taking strikes?
by gatorman2k2 on Sep 13, 2008 1:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
