Spaeder: Why it’s time for MLB to rethink the outdated sacrifice fly rule
From Ryan Spaeder at The Sporting News on February 3, 2017:
Wade Boggs knows more about getting on base than anyone I’ve ever met. But the Hall of Famer’s career .415 on-base percentage should’ve been higher. The reason it wasn’t? The sacrifice fly.
Boggs’ 96 career sacrifice flies actually knocked his on-base percentage down four points — from a would-be .419 to the actual .415 — because, unlike a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly actually counts against a player’s on-base percentage, despite having no effect on batting average. Didn’t know that? You’re not alone. Even Boggs was perplexed.
“It is strange,” he told me. “You get rewarded [with an RBI and by helping your team], but then you are penalized at the same time.”
Exactly, which is why it’s time for baseball to rethink the sacrifice fly.
Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/what-is-the-sacrifice-fly-rule-on-base-percentage-batting-average-effect-on-stats-wade-boggs/1spxyapuwp4rz1wcaw0i03ab3h
Originally published: February 3, 2017. Last Updated: February 3, 2017.