Sullivan: Who has been helped and hurt the most by pitch framing?
From Jeff Sullivan at FoxSports.com on August 22, 2014:
We’ll pick things up in the top of the sixth. Ahead in the count 2-and-1, Albert Pujols took a high slider, but it got called a strike, much to Pujols’ displeasure. The pitch was received by Christian Vazquez, who seems to be an elite-level pitch-framer.
On the next pitch, Pujols went down swinging. Shortly thereafter, Pujols must’ve said something from the dugout, because he got tossed, and Mike Scioscia subsequently also got tossed for defending his first baseman.
You could say that pitch-framing was largely responsible for two people on the Angels’ payroll getting ejected. For good measure, let’s skip ahead to the top of the seventh, with Collin Cowgill facing a two-strike count:
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Framed, and Cowgill didn’t like it. He managed to not get ejected, but he was clearly frustrated as he walked away. The Angels weren’t big fans of Andy Fletcher’s strike zone.
And, that’s fine. We’re looking at some borderline calls, and borderline calls have to go against somebody, and that side is going to be upset. Especially in the heat of late-August competition, when the Angels are trying to win a division and get to the ALDS. But, here’s the thing: pitch-framing is a skill, and every catcher tries to do it. One of the Angels’ own catchers, Hank Conger, seems to be pretty good at it. The Angels benefit from framing effects, and one wonders, do they come out ahead or behind overall? And if they come out ahead, what sense is there in arguing, really?
Read the full article here: http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/who-has-been-helped-and-hurt-the-most-by-the-art-of-pitch-framing-082214
Originally published: August 22, 2014. Last Updated: August 22, 2014.