CHW 8, MIN 4: South Side Slip

AL league average batting average per Baseball-Reference over the past 100 years in 25-year increments:

 

2018 .246

1993 .267

1968 .230

1943 .249

1918 .254

So, currently we're 8 points below the dead-ball era.  And we're lower than every era except for the era that resulted in the mound being lowered.  (The current game does remind me of 1960's baseball to a degree.)  But having said that, this data makes it look like the 70's and 80's were the aberration rather than the norm. 

Of course, the huge difference is in how the .246 (or .230) BA is achieved.  In the past it was achieved with a whole lot of ball-in-play guys...and a healthy minority of strike-out/power guys.  Now it's achieved with considerably less diversity in approaches skill/sets.  Almost everyone is (or is trying to be) the same player offensively.  And that player hasn't been developed to put the ball in play or spray the ball all over the field.  He's been trained to 'launch' or walk...and accept the resulting K%.  We know why.  And it's probably true to say that, regardless of what the modern formula dictated, the shrinking diversity of approaches/skills-sets was going to an inevitable result of the evolution of how kids grow up today and are trained.   They don't so much 'play' baseball as much as they are 'trained' at it.  Ironically, this is more true the more talented the kid.

Baseball tends to be cyclical. Someone will have success with a contact and baserunning approach and the rest of the league will try to copy it.

But, I absolutely think the current game where the “3 true outcome” types are valued is ridiculously boring.

Homeruns are boring. The most exciting play in baseball? Triple IMO. Anytime there is a play at the plate also. No, I am not sorry they banned violent collisions either. The play at the plate is still exciting without seeing some guy get his head knocked off.

Are you sitting down? I pulled these numbers up a couple weeks ago and was shocked. 

 

Twins 2018 MLB ranks w/RISP (pulled from FanGraphs)

AVG 6th (.262)

OBP 11th (.340)

SLG 6th (.437)

OPS 7th (.777)

wOBA 7th (.329)

wRC+ 7th (107)

 

Crazy, right? I would've bet they were in the bottom third in all those stats. The big problem has been simply getting the runners into scoring position in the first place. The Twins have 666 plate appearances w/RISP, that's the fourth lowest in baseball

Would love to see what these numbers look like excluding Rosario and Escobar.  I bet they WOULD be in the bottom third of the league.

Shifts I assume?

Which means that leaving one-third to one-half of the infield completely open has lead to lower BABiP.  Try explaining that one to the baseball novice.  Of course true SLG guys aren't going to give in...nor should they.  On the other hand, a whole lot of guys that are getting shifted are not in that category.