Plate Coverage

Ryan Pollack takes an extensive look at plate coverage at The Hardball Times and finds the most plate coverage is not always a good thing.

Having read the article, I disagree a bit. Plate coverage seems to be defined by the ability of the batter to put a pitched ball in play fair. So batters with a large area of plate coverage are putting pitches that would be called balls in play. That, in general, is not a good thing. I would define plate coverage as the ability to put balls over the plate in play fair. And if fact, those are the best hitters:

This answer makes sense. With too little coverage, pitchers can easily sneak pitches past you. With too much coverage, you put balls into play that you shouldn’t. There’s a sweet spot in the middle.

The whole article is worth the read.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2rLTrnY