In mid-December, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, a guest indicated that he didn’t like some trades that a team made. In particular, the guest demonstrated that a player just kept hitting into double plays. I can hear the voice of that guest loudly. After listening to the show, I was wondering whether this player actually grounded into double play most times in the 2022 season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed 48 home runs in 2021. In the 2022 season, he slashed .274/.339/.480 with 32 home runs and 97 RBI. He was selected to the All-Star game again. However, he didn’t hit 40+ home runs as he did. A main reason might be that his ground ball percentage increased from 45.6% to 52.3%. In 2022, Guerrero Jr. grounded into double play 26 times, most among MLB players.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers played a career-high 137 games for the Rockies. In 2022, he batted .266/.325/.408 with 13 home runs and a career-high 63 RBI. During the regular season, Rodgers had 25 double plays, leading the NL. In 2021, Rodgers’ ground ball percentage was 50.8% and last year, his GB% went up to 52%.
In addition, Josh Bell signed a 2-year deal with the Guardians in December. During the regular season, he played 103 games for the Nationals, hitting .301/.384/.493 with 14 home runs and 57 RBI. In August, Josh Bell and Juan Soto were traded to the Padres. However, Josh Bell didn’t enjoy his days in San Diego. Bell only batted .192/.316/.271 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI in 53 games. Bell grounded into double play 22 times in 2022. He’s a switch hitter. Among those 22 GIDPs, 12 times came when he batted left-handed and 10 times happened when he batted right-handed. In 2021, Bell grounded into double play 22 times as well.
In the meantime, Bo Bichette and Gio Urshela each grounded into double play 21 times in 2022. Bo Bichette hit .290/.333/.469 with 24 home runs and 93 RBI. He’s an important player in the Blue Jays lineup. In 2022, Bichette’s hard-hit rate was 50.3%, which is his career high, and his ground ball rate was 49.1%. Moreover, Gio Urshela slashed .285/.338/.429 with 13 home runs and 64 RBI with the Minnesota Twins. Urshela had 21 double plays, nonetheless, his ground ball percentage dropped from 48.4% to 41.7%.
Finally, 4 other players each grounded into double play 20 times. In total, there were 9 players who grounded into double play at least 20 times in 2022. Back in 2021, there were 9 players who hit at least 20 double plays as well.
Normally, a GIDP occurs on a ground ball that is hit hard and directly at a fielder. And, a player who is leading in GIDP usually hits a high number of ground balls. Last year, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Brendan Rodgers and Josh Bell each had a ground ball percentage over 50%. Furthermore, their ground-ball rate each ranked in the top 10 of the league. In the 2023 season, let’s see whether they will make adjustments to avoid hitting too many ground balls.
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