Hm... I wonder what JMOH could have meant when he expressed that more threads were better? Could it be that more threads are better?Doesn't Joe Posnanski have his own thread in the media forum?
But I have faith in Joe and will try to soldier on!Nick Cafardo had an interesting piece in the Boston Globe the other day...
Would you have read it? Would a lot of people have read it?Doesn't Joe Posnanski have his own thread in the media forum?
Is there a publicly-available source that shows launch angle per batted ball (or launch angle per hit, etc.)? The above does suggest that Mookie is a beneficiary of a focus on improving launch angle, and anecdotal evidence like Mookie's apparently-frequent discussions with JDM on the subject would support that idea as well, but I can't find a place to compare Mookie's 2017 vs. 2018 launch angle numbers to back that up (would have thought Baseball Savant would have it but didn't see it there).I think some of Betts struggles last year were due to him seeing less pitches to hit and him adjusting to that. His walk rate in 2015 and 2016 were 7.0% and 6.7%, respectively. In 2017, it jumped to 10.8. This year, it's at 10.4, but he's had a season to adjust, so while being just as patient as before, he is also more aggressive (which is what the article is stating). He's also hitting the ball in the air more than ever, From 2014-2017, he had a GB/FB ratio of .74, .62, .72, .69... this year it is a remarkable .46. Obviously, his HR/FB% is much higher too. He had a career HR/FB% of 8.4% heading into this season. This season, he's at 17.6%.
In theory, you could create a log of all Mookie's batted ball events - with exit velocity and launch angle - by scraping the game feed on Baseball Savant (https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed). You could even break out the game feed pitch-by-pitch to get pitch type, speed, and location. Of course, this would be a bitch, but it *is* possible.Is there a publicly-available source that shows launch angle per batted ball (or launch angle per hit, etc.)? The above does suggest that Mookie is a beneficiary of a focus on improving launch angle, and anecdotal evidence like Mookie's apparently-frequent discussions with JDM on the subject would support that idea as well, but I can't find a place to compare Mookie's 2017 vs. 2018 launch angle numbers to back that up (would have thought Baseball Savant would have it but didn't see it there).
Hitting genius has helped Betts hit the ball much, much harder than he has in his career — the guy already has 30 Statcast barrels which is the ideal combination of exit velocity and launch angle. That is the most barrels in baseball but, more to the point, it’s already more than he had the entirety of last year and only two shy of his near-MVP season of 2016. And we’re basically just one quarter of the way into the season.
Yeah, and that's already out of date because he got another one on his HR last night.This is INSANE:
In Ted's day the writers, or some of them, would get on him mercilessly for letting pitches a couple or three inches off the plate with men on base go by. Should compromise his great eye and swing at those to drive in runs. Of course, he was his own man and would as soon tell them to go, you know, themselves. Modern day, you'd never hear Pujols or Trout, or Mookie criticized for letting borderline balls go by.While reading the article, it hit me that no matter how we try to break it down and analyze it to death, the secret to being a good hitter always comes back to Teddy Ballgame and his credo: "Get a good pitch to hit."
Edit: BTW, that's not me shitting on advanced stats, which have been incredibly helpful in translating and refining Williams' philosophy. I'm just amazed at how far ahead of his time Williams was.
Joey Votto has gotten some flak in recent years over that.In Ted's day the writers, or some of them, would get on him mercilessly for letting pitches a couple or three inches off the plate with men on base go by. Should compromise his great eye and swing at those to drive in runs. Of course, he was his own man and would as soon tell them to go, you know, themselves. Modern day, you'd never hear Pujols or Trout, or Mookie criticized for letting borderline balls go by.
Joey Votto gets criticized for it.In Ted's day the writers, or some of them, would get on him mercilessly for letting pitches a couple or three inches off the plate with men on base go by. Should compromise his great eye and swing at those to drive in runs. Of course, he was his own man and would as soon tell them to go, you know, themselves. Modern day, you'd never hear Pujols or Trout, or Mookie criticized for letting borderline balls go by.
Are they not called Frisbees anymore?What I love about Betts is his voracious appetite for knowledge in the pursuit of making himself a better player. Obviously, this Posnanski piece touches on his taking advice from Cora to heart. This piece from Monday's Globe touches on how Betts was all over JD Martinez from the first day about what he does to prepare himself. Martinez is a bit of an odd ball in that he drills with all kinds of toys (a dodgeball, disc golf discs, and others) and carries a duffel bag of them on the road.
Benintendi is quoted as saying something along the lines of finding it strange but if it works for JD, more power to him. Betts, though, didn't shrug his shoulders and say "whatever", he was asking questions and trying things out immediately.
Of course, after being impressed with Betts' inquisitiveness, my next thought was what brand golf discs was Martinez using and does he also use them for their intended purpose?
It's a trademark and most discs aren't made by Wham-O anymore...Are they not called Frisbees anymore?
The Cincy media is mostly Cafardo wannabes.Joey Votto gets criticized for it.
I read this yesterday and was happy to read that Betts didn't just guffaw like it seems Martinez' other teammates do. He wants to learn, get better. I think that's great.his piece from Monday's Globe touches on how Betts was all over JD Martinez from the first day about what he does to prepare himself. Martinez is a bit of an odd ball in that he drills with all kinds of toys (a dodgeball, disc golf discs, and others) and carries a duffel bag of them on the road.
It seemed like he popped up so many off speed pitches last year, like his stride timing was just off and he ended up lunging toward the pitch just enough to turn a screamer into a dud. I've seen so little of that this season. He has been an absolute joy to watch. That home run last night was a missile. Probably a single at Fenway.Per MLBN this morning, Betts numbers on pitches Statcast categories as "Offspeed":
Combined with Posnanski's numbers, it appears the key outcome of whatever Betts has done is allowing him to keep either his weight back or his bat in the zone for longer, so he's still on-time to breaking balls when sitting fastball. I'd wager breaking balls account for the majority of his drop in O-Swing%, and by my eye test he seems to be shitting allllll over any slop n' spinners that are left up in the zone (like the one last night) more consistently than before.
To me the highlight of the article was when it recognized that:This year, it's at 10.4, but he's had a season to adjust, so while being just as patient as before, he is also more aggressive (which is what the article is stating).
He's not really being more aggressive (36% vs 37% swing rate is basically noise, and the first pitch swing rates are essentially similar) in the sense that most people mean by that—he's not going up there looking to swing, and he's not unwilling to take a walk.He’s swinging more. He’s also swinging less. This isn’t aggression. It’s hitting genius.
If Mookie took up disc golf I wonder how long it would take him to be better than me. I'd guess less than a week.What I love about Betts is his voracious appetite for knowledge in the pursuit of making himself a better player. Obviously, this Posnanski piece touches on his taking advice from Cora to heart. This piece from Monday's Globe touches on how Betts was all over JD Martinez from the first day about what he does to prepare himself. Martinez is a bit of an odd ball in that he drills with all kinds of toys (a dodgeball, disc golf discs, and others) and carries a duffel bag of them on the road.
Benintendi is quoted as saying something along the lines of finding it strange but if it works for JD, more power to him. Betts, though, didn't shrug his shoulders and say "whatever", he was asking questions and trying things out immediately.
Of course, after being impressed with Betts' inquisitiveness, my next thought was what brand golf discs was Martinez using and does he also use them for their intended purpose?
How dare you blaspheme. He would go to the world championship on his first try.If Mookie took up disc golf I wonder how long it would take him to be better than me. I'd guess less than a week.
Given what I've seen of other natural athletes who've taken up the sport, I think he could be competitive on a pro level (locally, not on tour or anything) within a year. If he wanted to compete for a World championship, he could do it within three years.If Mookie took up disc golf I wonder how long it would take him to be better than me. I'd guess less than a week.
Yes I would read it. I love all of Joe's stuff including columns, podcasts; tv appearences etc...It is funny that a few years ago, the Posnanski thread was updated almost daily. I don"t think its been touched in a year. Just goes to show you what happens when you move from place to place...let's hope Mookie never has to travel from team to team and stays a Red Sox.Would you have read it? Would a lot of people have read it?
Edit: cut out a part that was too snarky.