Check Swings

According to the Baseball Prospectus Batting Averages by Position chart, NL first basemen have had the highest OBP and SLG of any position. The much maligned AL 1B are actually 6th with no big surprises ahead of them. NL 2B has the only notable outlier among the big three rate stats with a .347 OBP, about .20 above league average.

The only really surprising statistic comes from AL PH, who are statistically the worst non-pitcher group of hitters. That means that over a large sampling, the manager would be better off never pinch hitting in the American League, because they are worse than any position. The tension here comes from leverage, as pinch hitters are often used against particularly effective situational relievers making their ABs more difficult. On the other hand, it seems to undermine the conventional wisdom that it takes a special type of hitter to pinch hit, since they’re failing miserably to the tune of .212/.310/.315.

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Whomever had 11 in the office pool for “At-Bats before Brett Boone’s first hit as a Twin,” congratulations, you outlasted the rest of the field for the win. That’s all for today; I’m taking it easy on my birthday.