Nicolas Stellini notes a positive note for the Angels in 2016, their batters struck out very little:
Los Angeles finished in the bottom half of baseball in terms of scoring runs, yes — and fared even more poorly by that measure after accounting for park and league — but they also managed to record the majors’ lowest strikeout rate as a team. If you had to guess which team was the best at not striking out, the Angels would probably be something like your 12th guess. Outside of Trout, the team has been so bland on offense that you can’t really think of anything interesting they do. I’m glad we have this chance to talk about something that the Angels did besides providing Tim Lincecum with the chance to throw batting practice.
The Angels struck out in 19.2% of their plate appearances in 2015, which put them in the upper third of the league in terms of avoiding punchouts. That mark was at 20.1% in 2014, and they brought it all the way down to 16.4% this year. That’s pretty darn good.
Back in 2002, the year the Angels won the World Series, they struck out and walked very little. The Angels went up against a poor defensive team, the Yankees, in the ALDS. That year, the Yankees pitchers struck out the second most batters in the AL, which helped cover up their poor defense. The Angels only struck out 18 times in four games that series, and balls kept finding holes. I’m not surprised that with a weak offense, a Mike Scioscia team is doing it’s best to put the ball in play.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2fKxgdB
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