5 Facts with Josh Beckett
MLB Heat | Friday, June 10, 2011 at 8:36AM
Josh Beckett has had an impressive start to the 2011 season and his curveball has been a big factor.
1. In 2011 opponents are hitting .188 versus Beckett (326 plate appearances). That's 21st overall across all MLB active pitchers. Jonny Venters (ATL) is leading the league as his opponents hit only .137 (142 plate appearances).
2. Beckett has the 7th highest strike out rate (28.4%) when there are runners in scoring position (sample size 67 plate appearances). David Robertson of the New York Yankees is number one in the league with a 40.7% strike out rate (sample size 59 plate appearances).
3. In 2010 Josh Beckett had a homerun rate of 3.9% (HR/AB). So far in 2011 Josh Beckett's homerun rate is down to 1.4%.
4. In 2010 Josh Beckett had 37 called third strikes. In 2011 he already has 23 called third strikes.
5. During the 2010 season 22% of Josh Beckett's called third strikes were curveballs. In 2011 the curveball is responsible for 35% of Beckett's called third strikes.
