Comments on: Mauer’s Splits

By: The Nicker

The Nicker — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:53:59 +0000

This is exactly what I was thinking. Combined with Mauer’s speed and willingness to bunt it seems that only the reverse outfield shift is necessary.

By: Steven ellingson

Steven ellingson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:00:09 +0000

“They all do”

Yes, but Mauer can wait longer because he is hitting the ball the other way.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:13:58 +0000

The outfield shift may have some benefit, but I just can’t see the infield shift working. It’s a lot more difficult for Mauer to change to pulling the ball in the air than it is to change to just hitting everything the opposite way. Besides, as you can see by the disparity in results, he does a pretty good job of hitting the ball at infielders in the standard configuration. Seems like shifting the infield would be handing him a bunch more hits.

I’d like to see the splits for which field he hits to based on the count, too. From observation I think he’s also weird in that he pulls the ball a lot with two strikes.

By: Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:12:52 +0000

Oh, I agree with you. Might as well make him change his approach completely and keep up his numbers. I just wouldn’t be shocked at all if he were to come close to replicating his success if he were a pull hitter only.

By: teo

teo — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:28:15 +0000

I think that his 4-3 grounder is frustrating, but I don’t think he’s a 4-3 clutch groundball hitter. I’m a die-hard Twins fan and I haven’t seen a better Twins hitter. He is simply the most talented and he works the hardest at manipulating pitchers.

I’d love to see the double-switch here, where infielders play like he’s a pull hitter from the left side and outfielders play like he’s a pull hitter from the right side. The only thing is that a single to third base turns into a single to left field. . . .

By: glassSheets

glassSheets — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:01:13 +0000

Some of these might be better suited as replies but i’m putting them all together

1) I’m taking credit as the impetus for the post from my comment in the “intro to splits” whether it’s actually true or not.

2) I believe John Dewan reached the same conslusion (two shifts) in the Fielding Bible before the season. Bring two leading analyzers to a front office and you have a strong case.

3) Some team did the inverted double shift this year (I want to say the White Sox) but can’t recall exactly and am open to being corrected.

By: andrewreinsch

andrewreinsch — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:24:02 +0000

During interleague in 2006, Mauer was on a distinctly Mauer-esque tear (he hit .452 that June) and seemed capable of taking any pitch and lining it hard back up the middle. I recall (rather vividly, but I’m welcome to correction) a few of the NL teams, particularly those visiting the Dome at the end of the month, shifting the infield to the right side against Mauer – but I don’t recall the outfield shifting much. I would never have been bold enough to suggest Mr. Cameron’s corresponding outfield shift (though the “what do they have to lose” argument is pretty persuasive when he had 11 hits in three games against the Dodgers) but the only-infield version seemed rather silly with a player so content and so able to go the other way.

He had three doubles and a triple during the interleague homestand period I’m walking about. So if the outfield was doing anything unique and I missed it, it doesn’t appear to have worked.

By: jak

jak — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:05:50 +0000

I am almost certain that Mauer would adjust his swing to take advantage of any shift put his way. I think his weird numbers are a result of him trying to go the other way and up the middle all the time, perhaps a bit to a fault. So balls that go to right are balls that he was trying to hit up the middle or to left and was late on, thus turning them over (I know almost nothing about hitting FYI).

If he tries to pull the ball my guess is that he’d do it more proficiently. But offensively he is doing so well that just trying to force him off his normal game plan might pay some dividends. Someone should try the double shift to see what happens. What do you have to lose? He’s killing you anyways.

By: AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:40:41 +0000

A cool look at the numbers, but to be honest with you, I could have told you about the double switch thing just from watching Mauer over the last few years as a Twins fan. Actually, we’ve seen something like it from a number of teams already, really. To be honest, opposing managers and pitchers have really tried pretty much every combination of pitch locations and defensive alignments possible against him. one dangerous thing, though, about committing too much to the hard infield shift is he’ll happily drop down a bunt and run it out if the third basemen isn’t even with the bag, so you’d have a massive hole on the middle/left-side with 3 guys right of the bag or Mauer would get a bunt hit every time.

And the very high HR/FB% to right is interesting, and again, I’m not surprised. It was the newest addition to his bag of tricks this year. Pretty much when he hit fly balls to right, his eyes would light up like the friggin’ Washington DC Christmas tree and he’d completely obliterate the ball. His homers to left-center are mostly wall-scraping liners, but damn, those fly balls to left are just monster shots.

By: mattlock

mattlock — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:18:09 +0000

Yeah, that was what jumped out at me. Only 7% of his batted balls to right are fly balls, but dang, of that 7%, 1 out of 3 will be a home run.

That’s just nuts.