On Twitter, MLB posts a beautiful spray chart of Ichiro Suzuki‘s 3000 hits.
http://twitter.com/MLBStatoftheDay/status/762471106603212800/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
What I find remarkable is that only one of Ichiro’s 114 home runs was hit to the opposite field. Basically, if he doesn’t pull the ball, he doesn’t homer. This is in contrast to another high hit player, Derek Jeter, who tended to go left and right with his home runs.
Part of this was the approach Ichiro used. He liked to swing at low, outside pitches in order to beat them into the ground and get a high hop. That way, it took longer to get to the fielder, and Ichiro could use his speed to beat the throw. So when he went the other way, Ichiro was not trying to drive the ball, he was trying to cause a ground ball that took a long time to field.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2b1ySOT
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