This spreadsheet represents offense by non-pitchers, season by season, from 1998 through 2017. That the 20 year period of the 30 team majors. Each column is the fraction plate appearances ending in that particular event; home runs, in-play hits, walks and HBP, strikeouts, and other events, mostly in play outs.
What this graph clearly shows is the decline of balls in play. In 2016 and 2017, a fan is more likely to see a strikeout than an in-play hit (IP Hit). As strikeouts rise, the percent of in play outs falls as well.
This may very well be a result of the PED ban of the early 2000s. As home run rates fell, pitchers may have gone after batters more, increasing strikeout rates. There was a decline in offense during that time. Pitchers were not going to stop striking out batters, so the response appears to be to wait for a pitch one can drive out of the park, or take the walk.
This is one of the things that makes Jose Altuve so interesting. He is bucking all these trends. He puts the ball in play, not waiting around for a walk or a strikeout. That helps him hit for a high average and amass a high number of hits. It can be done.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2f6xq1l
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