Cameron: The first-pitch swing decision, selectivity versus passivity
From Dave Cameron at FanGraphs on May 29, 2013:
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “The Myth of the Passive Hitter“, which examined the change in the rate of swings in Major League Baseball over the last 25 years. While a host of writers have written about the rise of Moneyball philosophies as a reason for why strikeout numbers are on the rise, I noted that the data shows that hitters are actually swinging at basically the same rate now as they did two decades ago. The evidence simply doesn’t support the idea that hitters have become significantly more passive at the plate.
However, as several readers pointed out, the point being posed most repeatedly by Tom Verducci isn’t that hitters are not swinging often enough, it’s that they’re not swinging often enough in the right situations.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-first-pitch-swing-decision-selectivity-versus-passivity/
Originally published: May 29, 2013. Last Updated: May 29, 2013.