Wednesday
Aug212013
Batters: First Pitch of an At Bat
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor | Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 5:12PM
Entering play on Thursday, there had been 73,352 plate appearances and 282,213 pitches seen.
That averages 3.847 pitches per plate appearance.
Some batters see nine or 10 pitches in a plate appearances, some see only two. But the one thing we know, is that every time someone steps up to the plate, the batter sees at least one pitch.
That makes the first pitch of an at bat a pretty interesting variable. Not always statistically significant, but certainly interesting and really kind of fun.
Who swings?
Top 20 batters who swing at the first pitch
| P | Swng# | |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Gomez (MIL) | 463 | 240 |
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 528 | 227 |
| Freddie Freeman (ATL) | 484 | 223 |
| Josh Hamilton (LAA) | 505 | 212 |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 542 | 205 |
| Ian Desmond (WSH) | 510 | 198 |
| Pablo Sandoval (SF) | 448 | 195 |
| Alexei Ramirez (CWS) | 534 | 193 |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | 521 | 189 |
| Jay Bruce (CIN) | 542 | 186 |
| Yadier Molina (STL) | 413 | 185 |
| Justin Morneau (MIN) | 509 | 185 |
| Mark Trumbo (LAA) | 534 | 181 |
| Hunter Pence (SF) | 529 | 181 |
| Andrew McCutchen (PIT) | 525 | 181 |
| Robinson Cano (NYY) | 540 | 178 |
| Anthony Rizzo (CHC) | 532 | 178 |
| Jose Altuve (HOU) | 514 | 177 |
| Marlon Byrd (NYM) | 443 | 174 |
| Matt Holliday (STL) | 460 | 173 |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
Who gets hits?
Top 20 batters who get hits on the first pitch
| H | 2B | 3B | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 39 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Robinson Cano (NYY) | 36 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Freddie Freeman (ATL) | 36 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| Carlos Gomez (MIL) | 34 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 32 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| Anthony Rizzo (CHC) | 31 | 9 | 1 | 7 |
| Kendrys Morales (SEA) | 30 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Yasiel Puig (LAD) | 29 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Yadier Molina (STL) | 29 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Joey Votto (CIN) | 29 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Alexei Ramirez (CWS) | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| David Wright (NYM) | 27 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Andrew McCutchen (PIT) | 27 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Alcides Escobar (KC) | 27 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| A. J. Pierzynski (TEX) | 27 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Yunel Escobar (TB) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark Trumbo (LAA) | 26 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Ian Desmond (WSH) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Hunter Pence (SF) | 26 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Gerardo Parra (ARI) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
Who hits homers?
Who hits homers on the first pitch?
| AB | HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 80 | 13 |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | 54 | 10 |
| Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | 56 | 9 |
| Pedro Alvarez (PIT) | 48 | 8 |
| Mark Trumbo (LAA) | 67 | 8 |
| Evan Longoria (TB) | 44 | 8 |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 79 | 8 |
| Robinson Cano (NYY) | 87 | 7 |
| Anthony Rizzo (CHC) | 79 | 7 |
| Troy Tulowitzki (COL) | 46 | 6 |
| Kendrys Morales (SEA) | 61 | 6 |
| Josh Hamilton (LAA) | 72 | 6 |
| Jose Bautista (TOR) | 37 | 6 |
| Hanley Ramirez (LAD) | 40 | 6 |
| Chris Carter (HOU) | 28 | 6 |
| Carlos Gomez (MIL) | 87 | 6 |
| Bryce Harper (WSH) | 49 | 6 |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
Who misses?
Who swings and misses first pitches?
| Swng# | Miss# | Miss% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Gomez (MIL) | 240 | 65 | 27.1% |
| Josh Hamilton (LAA) | 212 | 63 | 29.7% |
| Jay Bruce (CIN) | 186 | 62 | 33.3% |
| Mark Trumbo (LAA) | 181 | 61 | 33.7% |
| Ian Desmond (WSH) | 198 | 61 | 30.8% |
| Freddie Freeman (ATL) | 223 | 61 | 27.4% |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | 189 | 61 | 32.3% |
| Pedro Alvarez (PIT) | 156 | 59 | 37.8% |
| Adam Jones (BAL) | 205 | 56 | 27.3% |
| Marlon Byrd (NYM) | 174 | 55 | 31.6% |
| Dan Uggla (ATL) | 154 | 54 | 35.1% |
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 227 | 53 | 23.3% |
| Todd Frazier (CIN) | 165 | 50 | 30.3% |
| Justin Upton (ATL) | 149 | 50 | 33.6% |
| John Buck (NYM) | 167 | 50 | 29.9% |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
Who takes strikes?
Who takes called strikes on first pitches?
| P | Strk# | ClStk# | ClStk% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Pedroia (BOS) | 577 | 335 | 278 | 53.5% |
| Matt Carpenter (STL) | 549 | 334 | 266 | 55.3% |
| J. J. Hardy (BAL) | 496 | 301 | 250 | 56.2% |
| Martin Prado (ARI) | 521 | 305 | 248 | 53.4% |
| Alex Rios (TEX) | 508 | 298 | 228 | 52.1% |
| Starling Marte (PIT) | 536 | 363 | 225 | 56.5% |
| Mike Trout (LAA) | 560 | 297 | 224 | 46.0% |
| Marco Scutaro (SF) | 472 | 277 | 223 | 53.3% |
| Alejandro De Aza (CWS) | 539 | 327 | 221 | 51.0% |
| Brian Dozier (MIN) | 464 | 268 | 217 | 52.5% |
| Jose Bautista (TOR) | 528 | 311 | 216 | 49.9% |
| Nick Markakis (BAL) | 556 | 315 | 210 | 46.6% |
| Ian Kinsler (TEX) | 447 | 253 | 209 | 51.9% |
| Jason Kipnis (CLE) | 512 | 273 | 208 | 46.5% |
| Ryan Zimmerman (WSH) | 471 | 273 | 203 | 50.6% |
| Carlos Santana (CLE) | 490 | 283 | 203 | 49.5% |
| Nate McLouth (BAL) | 470 | 296 | 202 | 53.7% |
| Alex Gordon (KC) | 532 | 306 | 201 | 47.1% |
| Starlin Castro (CHC) | 538 | 312 | 200 | 46.9% |
| Allen Craig (STL) | 509 | 307 | 200 | 49.8% |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
Who Takes?
Who takes first pitches?
| P | Strk# | Zone# | Ball# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Pedroia (BOS) | 520 | 278 | 293 | 242 |
| Mike Trout (LAA) | 487 | 224 | 240 | 263 |
| Matt Carpenter (STL) | 481 | 266 | 244 | 215 |
| Joe Mauer (MIN) | 469 | 232 | 211 | 237 |
| Martin Prado (ARI) | 464 | 248 | 260 | 216 |
| Nick Markakis (BAL) | 451 | 210 | 197 | 241 |
| Jason Kipnis (CLE) | 447 | 208 | 194 | 239 |
| J. J. Hardy (BAL) | 445 | 250 | 269 | 195 |
| Alex Rios (TEX) | 438 | 228 | 232 | 210 |
| Jose Bautista (TOR) | 433 | 216 | 212 | 217 |
| Alejandro De Aza (CWS) | 433 | 221 | 204 | 212 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) | 430 | 193 | 193 | 237 |
| Elvis Andrus (TEX) | 430 | 198 | 219 | 232 |
| Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | 428 | 188 | 194 | 240 |
| Evan Longoria (TB) | 427 | 190 | 213 | 237 |
| Alex Gordon (KC) | 427 | 201 | 183 | 226 |
| Starlin Castro (CHC) | 426 | 200 | 216 | 226 |
| Brett Gardner (NYY) | 424 | 198 | 186 | 226 |
| Kyle Seager (SEA) | 421 | 196 | 174 | 225 |
| Billy Butler (KC) | 421 | 191 | 199 | 230 |
Created by BaseballAnalytics.org on 8/21/2013
I told you it was fun
Spend a little time mulling this over and leave some comments. I look forward to hearing from you.
in 0-0 pitches, Bill Chuck Files, first pitches | tagged Dustin Pedroia, First pitches, Miguel Cabrera
0-0 pitches, Bill Chuck Files, first pitches | tagged Dustin Pedroia, First pitches, Miguel Cabrera
Reader Comments (1)
Not surprised to see that there weren't any Red Sox players on the list of players who swing the most at the first pitch, seeing as they are a very patient ball club, but I was surprised to see just two Boston players on the list of who takes the most pitches. Perhaps a lot of the players on Boston who are very patient and see a lot of pitches per plate appearance (example - Mike Napoli) just don't have enough plate appearances. Minnesota is also a very patient ball club, and I see Dozier and Mauer popped up on who takes the most pitches and first pitch strikes. Morneau on the other hand seems to be the exception on this team, and I'm curious, was he like that before he suffered the concussion that seems to have altered his career path? He has definitely not been the same guy since that injury occurred, and I'm interested if he was always a big first-pitch swinger or if his approach at the plate has changed. Maybe he could return more to his pre-concussion form at the plate if this the latter is the case with him.
Good stuff as always, and I enjoy reading quite a few of these articles!