Last month, I watched a baseball game. The home team was behind, however, a huge opportunity came. Bases loaded, one out, fans looked quite excited. The batter was ready and swung. In the end, it was an inning-ending double play. After watching the game, I was wondering whether this batter is not hitting well with bases loaded.
To understand a little bit more, I went to check on some stats on the MLB website.
By far this season, 4 players failed to get a hit with at least 10 plate appearances when bases are loaded. The 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu has 4 career grand slams. He’s supposed to be a dangerous hitter when bases are loaded, however, he hasn’t had a hit with bases loaded this season. Meanwhile, J.P. Crawford is hitting .251/.337/.348 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 131 games. His OPS is below .700 and he’s looking for his first hit with the bases loaded this season. Ian Happ has 2 grand slams in his career so far. Nonetheless, when bases are loaded, his batting average is actually below .200 so far in his career. This season, he hasn’t had a hit with the bases loaded and he was struck out 6 times. At the same time, so far in Lane Thomas’ career, his batting average is below .200 with the bases loaded. This season, he doesn’t have a hit when bases are loaded.
Well, we have seen that some players fail to collect a hit when bases are loaded. Now, let’s take a look at those players who have been struck out several times when bases are loaded.
Cody Bellinger did crush a grand slam this season. However, in 16 at-bats with the bases loaded, Bellinger has only 3 hits and he was struck out 9 times. The 2019 NL MVP award winner has a batting average of .188 when bases are loaded this year. Additionally, Willy Adames blasted a grand slam in July and by far this season, he has collected 13 RBI when bases are loaded. Nonetheless, Adames was struck out 7 times with the bases loaded. Moreover, Matt Chapman was punched out 6 times when bases are loaded. Brandon Crawford was struck out 6 times with the bases loaded, but he smashed a grand slam in June.
Finally, let’s look at one of the most frustrating things. With the bases loaded, Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres each grounded into double play four times. Aaron Hicks has three hits in 12 at-bats with the bases loaded this season. At the same time, Gleyber Torres has only 2 hits in 19 at-bats when bases are loaded.
A bases-loaded situation is one of the most interesting situations in baseball. On the field, one team would like to score as many runs as possible. However, the other team would like to limit damage, in particular, the fielding team would like to turn a double play with less than two outs. For some players, they have to identify the right strategy and choose the right pitch to swing when bases are loaded, otherwise, it’s going to be frustrating to see opportunities slip.
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