Hi Matt! <waves>
Aaron Gleeman's blog today (www.aarongleeman.com) has a link to Fan
Graphs which has a new stat called Outside Swing Percentage, defined
as the percentage of pitches that a batter swings at that are outside
of the strike zone. Gleeman's site lists the Twins batters. Not
surprisingly Carlos Gomez leads the team in swinging at balls outside
the strike zone.
What was surprising is that only two players in major league baseball
swing at more pitches outside the strike zone than Carlos Gomez.
Care to guess?
C'mon, think of the wildest free swingers in baseball.
Hint: One of them is a former Twin.
Hint: The other one is a teammate of Torii Hunter.
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Vladimir Guerrero 43.8%
A.J. Pierzynski 38.4%
Carlos Gomez 38.3%
A.J. just edges out Gomez for 2nd place on the chart. Should add some
additional interest in watching the Sox vs. Twins game tonight. Who
can take over 2nd place as the most free swinger in baseball?
The thing is that Vlad and A.J. hit the balls they swing at; Gomez--
not much.
