April 5, 2013

Strikeout rates - update

Just a quick follow-up from my earlier post:  James Gentile at Beyond the Boxscore has written another great analysis on strikeouts, this one with the title "How can strikeouts be great for pitchers, but not that bad for hitters?" The analysis delves deeper in the question of increased strikeout rates by looking at the asymmetry between pitcher and hitter outcomes.

It boils down to this sentence: "Over time, hitters, managers, and front offices have slowly recognized more and more that they can trade additional strikeouts for an increase in production at the plate with very little repercussions."

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