Comments on: Should Arizona Have Pitched Around Fielder?

By: The Nicker

The Nicker — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:54:03 +0000

“Even if Hamilton had gotten a hit, the decision too bunt was a bad one because Hamilton is a very good power hitter and by bunting he loses that advantage. I think this is the point of the Hamilton post.”

When down by 8 runs late in the game, power matters very little. On base is almost everything. You need baserunners. If Hamilton hits a home run his team is still down 6 runs. A home run has almost the same WPA as a single at that point in the game. If Hamilton feels he can execute the bunt then it is still a good decision.

By: Dave G

Dave G — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:35:00 +0000

It was a stupid decision, not because of the result, because it was stupid.

By: adohaj

adohaj — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:26:44 +0000

You would think so. But you would also think Shaq would have learned to make free throws…oh wait he doesn’t have to. AHHH cross sport analogy

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:45:58 +0000

Even if Hamilton had gotten a hit, the decision too bunt was a bad one because Hamilton is a very good power hitter and by bunting he loses that advantage. I think this is the point of the Hamilton post.

Not walking Fielder makes sense because of the increased probability of scoring multiple runs based upon who was hitting behind him.

Both arguments are ignoring the outcome.

I agree with the consensus here that they should have brought in their LOOGY. This is the exact situation you pay them for.

By: CircleChange11

CircleChange11 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:31:18 +0000

@Larry

It’s also possible that Hamilton has been working on this.

I don’t want to state the obvious, ut with Hamilton’s ability it wouldn’t take him very long to learn how to “bunt it to the right of the pitcher”.

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:47:01 +0000

I think the belief held by the site is that Josh Hamilton is an excellent hitter, but most likely not a good bunter. Guys like Hamilton rarely/never bunt because their expected runs created by swinging away is greater than by bunting, even against an exaggerated shift. If this were not the case, wouldn’t he bunt more often to punish teams for shifting against him?

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:14:09 +0000

So reading the last two articles, it’s right to pitch to Fielder, even though he hit a home run, because it’s the probabilities that matter and not the outcome… but it’s wrong for Hamilton to try to bunt for a base hit to a wide open 3B due to a shifted infield because he didn’t succeed?