Off the plate

[Theoldmole]

Wright's main issue last season was plate discipline. The third baseman swung at 30.1 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, according to data from the website Fangraphs.com, compared to an average of 21.7 percent over the previous three seasons. He also made contact with those pitches at the same rate he always has, accounting for almost all of his downward fluctuation in batting average.

How does this compare to other players?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Major-league leader: Daric Barton (15.5%)
Unsurprising major-league "leader:" Vlad Guerrero (47.0%)
Major-league average: 29.3%

Others, for context (as seen here):

Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval: 44.6%
Jeff Francoeur: 43.4%
Alfonso Soriano: 40.6%
Adrian Beltre: 39.9%
Robinson Cano: 36.5%
Ichiro: 35.6%
Carlos Lee: 34.5%
Brandon Phillips: 34.1%
Vernon Wells: 33.5%
Ryan Howard: 33.1%
JoseJoseJoseJose: 32.1%
Brian McCann: 30.2%
Joey Votto: 29.9%
Hanley Ramirez: 29.9%
Jay Bruce: 29.3%
Matt Holliday: 29.1%
Adam Dunn: 28.5%
Prince Fielder: 28.3%
Adam LaRoche: 28.1%
Troy Tulowitzki: 27.8%
Ryan Ludwick: 27.6%
Albert Pujols: 27.5%
Ike Davis: 27.3%
Placido Polanco: 27.0%
Shin-Soo Choo: 26.8%
Mark Teixeira: 26.5%
Mark Reynolds: 26.4%
Evan Longoria: 26.3%
Ryan Zimmerman: 25.9%
Chase Utley: 25.5%
Alex Rodriguez: 25.3%
Joe Mauer: 24.8%
Stephen Drew: 24.7%
Jason Heyward: 24.2%
Justin Upton: 24.0%
Raul Ibanez: 23.9%
Michael Bourn: 23.8%
Rickie Weeks: 23.7%
Jayson Werth: 21.8%
J. D. Drew: 20.6%
Andrew McCutchen: 20.0%
Bobby Abreu: 18.1%
Luis Castillo: 17.3%

Basically, he was slightly-above-MLB-average in this category in 2010 (but way above average among "good hitters"-- see the names above). He's also slightly-if-not-insignificantly below-average in the contact-rate categories, though, and in producing swinging-strikes (both roughly in line with his career numbers, if a little high). Along with his 2009 equivalent-numbers (same sorta thing really, only a little less amplified), this suggests that he is hurt more by being a little more undisciplined than your average major-league hitter would be... and it also explains his sharp decline in walk numbers. What made Sugar Pants an MVP-caliber hitter was his controlled aggression; he swung hard, and made powerful, line-drive-laden contact on pitches in/around the zone throughout 2005-2008, and he let most of the rest go by. Whether it's a function of "feeling more pressure," an outsized sense of his own abilities, or something else entirely, he's gotten away from this, to an extent, jacking up already-high K numbers to Mark Reynoldsian heights and-- more damaging-- collapsing the walk numbers/OBP. It also makes him streakier, since his offensive fortunes are much more BABIP-dependent.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Guest

[Guest Edgy DC]

Everybody who resents statistical analysis, that's really useful data.