Nailing the Inefficiency of Hitters

There is this gem buried in a Buster Olney article that wonders if increasing launch angles are hurting some players:

A high-ranking NL executive was more supportive of the idea, saying, “I think there’s something to the launch angle thing, because you have pitchers working the bottom of the zone and so it makes sense that you would try to lift the ball. But I don’t think the so-called launch angle revolution will last; it’s just another adjustment in a sport that is constantly evolving, and you’re seeing pitchers beat hitters who are trying to get the ball in the air with fastballs up in the zone. The Dodgers and the Rays are like that.

“What I am absolutely blown away by is the inability of hitters to take advantage of shifts — and maybe that’s where this is all coming from. Hitters haven’t been able to deal with shifts, and so this is their new thing: They’re going to try to beat the shift by hitting over it. But if this was college, they’d just hit the ball the other way. I can’t believe more hitters aren’t doing that.”

Right. Teams are giving hitters free hits, and the hitters are saying, “No thanks, I’d rather bat .280 than 1.000.” Ty Cobb is rolling over in his grave.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2rXEWk9