tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post3446208621034229211..comments2024-02-23T20:49:09.057-08:00Comments on obsessivegiantscompulsive: Is Kung Fu Panda's high BABIP Sustainable?obsessivegiantscompulsivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-33690550280999346772009-09-03T22:38:13.343-07:002009-09-03T22:38:13.343-07:00Thanks steveb, much appreciated.
I sometimes wo...Thanks steveb, much appreciated. <br /><br />I sometimes wonder if I'm railing at windmills, some of the comments I see out on other sites really drive me crazy sometimes.<br /><br />Great suggestion. I will try to put one together and link to it in the glossary section that I newly set up on my side panel.<br /><br />I also moved all the labels down at the bottom so the pages are not as long.<br /><br />You're most very welcome.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-43644184162913182782009-09-03T22:35:24.008-07:002009-09-03T22:35:24.008-07:00Marc, it took me 2-3 times reading your comment to...Marc, it took me 2-3 times reading your comment to get it.<br /><br />Excellent point!<br /><br />You are right, a hitter who has certain tendencies regarding where he normally hits in the field can be defended against by shifting to those tendencies. Much like the Bonds (or before him, the Ted Williams) shift.<br /><br />But if Sandoval (or any other high contact free swinger) can hit any pitch at almost any location with hard contact (I think you meant hard contact, not high contact, but correct me if I'm wrong), then he can literally "hit 'em where they ain't" like that guy long ago, and have a much higher BABIP.<br /><br />However, as my next post showed, Vlad, another free swinger, did not have that high a BABIP, which disappointed me, but the facts are the facts.<br /><br />Still, perhaps they can't build a book on Sandoval as easily because he's a switch hitter, as well as a free swinger.<br /><br />And maybe Sandoval is better than Vlad, you never know.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-23298495124169367882009-09-03T19:43:34.865-07:002009-09-03T19:43:34.865-07:00Another excellent article, Martin.
I read quite a...Another excellent article, Martin.<br /><br />I read quite a few blogs but some of the acronyms are over my head too. It would be very helpful if, for example, you set up an acronym and stat page with each acronym, a simple definition, and your take on it, that you could simply link to when acronyms/stats appear in your blog entry. You could gradually build the page as you use the acronyms in your blog, so it wouldn't take a large chunk of time all at once. I like to read your opinions on the stats too, so I think the acronym page would be an interesting reference. Just an idea to consider. <br /><br />I really enjoy your blog and agree with your opinions about Sabean and the direction of the team. I also enjoy your series preview of the pitching matchups. Your posts are always interesting and informed reads and add to the enjoyment of following the Giants. Thanks!stevebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09185582735261464424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-60122997112700618552009-09-03T16:43:46.012-07:002009-09-03T16:43:46.012-07:00I would be curious if BABIP is skewed by a free-sw...I would be curious if BABIP is skewed by a free-swinger (that is, a high-contact free-swinger). After all, I would think that the "standard" BABIP also assumes a logical defense, that fielders will play to a hitter's tendencies. If a hitter has fewer repeatable tendencies, perhaps he would be harder to defend against?marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-91230238571077631572009-09-03T16:01:53.383-07:002009-09-03T16:01:53.383-07:00Sure, I'll try to be better about explaining t...Sure, I'll try to be better about explaining these terms, but since I'm just not sure about the ratio of people who know this and those who don't, among those who read my blog, I've been just plowing ahead as if you know, figuring those who don't know but are interested would ask for an explanation. <br /><br />I've always been happy to explain anything, part of my goal here is to educate, but I dont' want to bore people with definitions all the time. I'll try to find a happy medium.<br /><br />Plus, I'll try to find a good definitions page to link to.<br /><br />BABIP is the acronym for Batting Average on Balls in Play. This also effectively measures how well the defense turns balls in play into outs. I think some sources might have different definitions, but the one from baseball-reference.com, which is the source of all the data used in this post, is you subtract HR from hits to remove those hits that were not in play (obviously, the fielder has no play on HRs) keeping just the hits in play, then divide that figure by At Bats minus strikeouts (not in play) minus HR (again, not in play) plus sacrifice flies (which normally would just be a fly out but because there is a runner on third who scores, you don't get credited with an AB but is still a ball in play).<br /><br />From the pitcher's perspective, BABIP is generally around .300, as the DIPS theory postulates that pitchers have very little effect on balls hit into play, that if is solely in the hands of the defense. That has generally held to be true, but there are exceptions as shown by Tom Tippett of Diamond Mind, such as the crafty lefty, which I believe is where Zito belongs.<br /><br />For hitters, their BABIP is generally an individual thing related to their abilities as a hitter. Amazingly, when you group all the hitters together, .300 is the rough mean that they collectively hit. <br /><br />The question I was trying to answer was how related is a hitter's initial BABIP in their early part of their career to this BABIP for his career. <br /><br />Here I examined some sabermetric signs that he might be able to sustain his current BABIP rate going forward.<br /><br />I ended up writing up another answer examining what happened with other similar hitting players, then other hitters unsimilar in a number of ways. <br /><br />I was going to post it here in the comments but it's pretty long (I know, as usual...) so it might be better as a post.<br /><br />Oh, plus, I just realized, comments are now limited in length, so I'll have to post a new post.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-9159363590679543022009-09-03T13:19:51.477-07:002009-09-03T13:19:51.477-07:00I have a general suggestion/request for your blog....I have a general suggestion/request for your blog. You use lots of in depth stat measurements, and I am very interested in reading this article, however, I have no clue what a BABIP is. In the future could you at least say what the abbreviation stands for, or perhaps have a general permanent link somewhere at the top/side of your site listing the stats you commonly use and what it is they are?<br /><br />As of now I take your article to mean, can the panda continue to be a beast...in which case of course he can!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02962612008912138305noreply@blogger.com