Sarris: Swing percentages by inning
From SABR member Eno Sarris at FanGraphs on November 1, 2012:
With the final pitch of this past world series in the book, we now have two iconic series-ending takes in recent memory. Miguel Cabrera was frozen by a Sergio Romo fastball when he was perhaps thinking slider, and Carlos Beltran famously flinched at an Adam Wainwright curveball in game seven of the 2006 NLCS.
Of course that’s just two data points, connected only tenuously by situation (last out) and outcome (strike three taken), but it is enough to spawn a digression. Even if it would be kind of crazy to find out that batters swing less often as your average game progresses based on this starting point, crazier things have been born of less consequential moments.
With the help of sabermagician Jeff Zimmerman, I set out to answer this question. Seems easy enough. How often to batters swing, by inning? Let’s limit it to at-bats against starters, considering the difference between a starter making his way through the lineup again in the sixth inning and a fresh reliever in the same inning.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/just-swing-the-bat-swing-percentages-by-inning/
Originally published: November 1, 2012. Last Updated: November 1, 2012.