Baseball is back. The new season will start in July. Meanwhile, new sets of baseball cards are available. Topps big league is one of the cheaper sets and very accessible for fans. However, it’s very hard to get an autographed baseball card in a box since it’s not guaranteed. But, some big league inserts are with cool designs.
The 2020 season is not the same 162-game regular season as usual. It will be a 60-game season. Besides, there are some other changes. One is the implementation of the universal designated hitter. We might not see some excitement when a pitcher collects a hit or hits a home run unexpectedly. But it will also create more opportunities for some good hitters to play in the national league.
We know that pitchers normally don’t hit well, but some pitchers can hit, for example, Zack Greinke had a .280 batting average last season. In his career, he has collected more than 100 hits. Pitchers would have to be careful when Greinke is at bat. However, looking back at NL pitchers’ hitting performance by team in the last 3 seasons, there are not so many surprises.
National League West pitchers seemed to be “ok” at hitting. Diamondbacks’ pitchers had the highest batting average in 2017, followed by the Padres. Meanwhile, the Giants pitchers hit 5 home runs in the 2017, the most in the league, thanks to Madison Bumgarner, who had 3 home runs in that season with a .721 OPS. But the Silver Slugger award went to Adam Wainwright, who hit .262 and collected 2 homers.
Cardinals’ pitchers hit 6 home runs in the 2018 season and the Nationals’ pitchers collected most hits. John Gant had only 2 hits in the 2018 season, 2 were all home runs. Another Cardinals’ pitcher Miles Mikolas also homered twice in that season. Mets’ pitcher Steve Matz collected 2 homers, no other Mets pitchers hit a home run in the 2018 season. But none of them won the silver slugger award, Rockies’ pitcher German Marquez hit .300 and collected 18 hits, that made him win the silver slugger award.
In the 2019 season, Mets’ pitchers did hit much better than other NL teams’ pitchers, leading in hits, home runs and batting average. Noah Syndergaard and Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom each had 2 home runs last season. Madison Bumgarner is another pitcher who collected 2 home runs last season. Zack Greinke hit .280/.308/.508 last season and collected 3 home runs, which made him win the Silver Slugger award.
When a pitcher is at bat, fans probably don’t expect him to do too much. Looking back at National League pitchers’ hitting performance in the last 3 seasons, it’s quite rare to see that a team’s pitchers hit above .150, that’s far below the Mendoza Line. However, that’s why fans are super excited when a pitcher collects a hit or even a home run. Something unexpected is always an important part of a baseball game. Nevertheless, a universal DH rule could make this shortened season intense and interesting. We can see some good hitters to be designated hitters and have more plate appearances or do damage with just one swing. Starting pitchers in the National League may stay longer, if they pitch well, since they won’t be pinch-hit this season.
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