Comments on: Chris “K” Young

By: Fresh Hops

Fresh Hops — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:25:35 +0000

Are we sure it’s not R^2 for *hitters* with K% is .77? That seems totally huge and I’ve never seen anything so strong. I think that number is swing percentage to strikeout rate for pitchers, and I think it should be R not R^2.

By: D-Rock

D-Rock — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:15:56 +0000

I actually think it would be interesting to see the called strike chart of the player that has the best percentage. Does the best player incur this fluctuation or does this kind of strike zone apply to just Chris Young or guys with reps as whiffers?

An interesting article nonetheless.

That one strike looks like it almost hit him. One worth getting tossed over.

By: R M

R M — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:44:08 +0000

That number is inflated due to his rediculous % in the 40′s early on. I bet if you looked at what he’s been doing the past couple months it would be a lot lower than that.

By: Joe R

Joe R — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:02:22 +0000

Another example for you:
Last season, team OBP (x) vs. runs/game (y), this equation had an r^2 of around .7, or 70%. That means that about 70% of team runs in 2008 were correlated with how well a team got on base. Obviously the other 30% came from factors like how well they hit for power, how well they ran the bases when they did get on, whether they were a “clutch” team, or a team that tended to get their hits/walks in bunches, and of course, random luck.

Sorry, math nerd moment.

By: Joe R

Joe R — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:57:44 +0000

Yes, it is.

Essentially says that a batter’s contact % explains 77% of their strikeout rate. Pretty big given all that can factor into strikeout totals.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:46:11 +0000

Just a quick question about interpretation – the sentence “the R^2 for strikeouts and contact% is 0.77″ would be interpreted as “77% of the variability in strikeouts is attributable to contact %”, is this correct?

By: Davidceisen

Davidceisen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:28:18 +0000

He’s more of a fan of short outs. He has a 25% IFFB rate, which is likely causing his HR/FB rate to deflate.

By: Vinnie

Vinnie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:21:22 +0000

Does Young stand closer to the plate than the average hitter? I haven’t seen a ton of Young, so I can’t answer this question from recollection, but maybe someone else here can. If that is the case, it could explain why outside pitches have been called on him so consistently.

My perception has always been that umps routinely alter their strike zone in reaction to the hitter’s position in the box. Of course, my perception could be skewed by that expectation. Have you guys ever done a post regarding the effect of batter’s box position on called strikes?

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:42:20 +0000

cool article~

By: Mojowo11

Mojowo11 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:34:43 +0000

Yeah, this was exactly my first thought. It wouldn’t really surprise me if all major league hitters are getting this slightly-too-wide strike zone called against them.