Quote:
Originally Posted by Jester
The shift matters, but you also have sac flies impacting his BA with men on, and as a lefty he can take advantage of the hole on the right side some.
Pat Burrell hit 17 pts higher with men on, too.
|
The shift matters far, far more than sac flies impacting his BA. They also impact his OBP in the opposite manner as well.
Since his MVP year.
With the bases empty: .243/.319/.490 BABIP: .285.
Men On: .288/.390/.586 BABIP: .340
That is a large difference, and it stems primarily from the shift.
The only way he's going to get them to stop shifting him is if he starts crushing doubles down the 3rd base line. If he bunts or smacks a single over there, the opposing team will take that all day. If he hits a homer to left, there's nothing a defense could do about that anyway so there's no point in changing it. So he's pretty much stuck with it. Still, it sucks.