Neil Weinberg looks at the reasons Coco Crisp has the longest current streak of plate appearances without being hit by a pitch. In addition to being a switch hitter:
His main quirk is probably how he buries his chin into his front shoulder. Perhaps there’s something about his stance that gives him an early warning? As we saw in the Dietrich piece last week, some hitters use that awareness to get hit more often. Perhaps Crisp has elected to use his vision in the opposite way? No one would blame Crisp if he chose not to lean in and risk injury.
Another important factor is likely that pitchers generally pitch Crisp away, and it’s hard to get hit if most of the pitches are on the other side of the plate.
Pitchers managed to hit Crisp just five times in his career. I was lucky enough to be at one of the games, when James Shields hit Crisp. Coco almost killed him. It turns out Crisp’s dad was an amateur boxer and I suspect Coco knows how to throw a punch. After that brawl I suspect pitchers are a bit wary of going after the outfielder.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2isczVg
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