Just a few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, the host mentioned the differences of lineup construction. For example, he indicated that Freddie Freeman and Aaron Judge are batting second. However, 10 years ago, things were not the same.
I really enjoyed listening to the show and after listening to the show, I began to think about a question. Have MLB teams dramatically changed the way they build lineups? To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the great Fangraphs website.
I took a look at the stats from 2010 to 2013 first and here’s what I got.
From 2010 to 2013, the first 2 batters of the Yankees blasted 166 home runs and had an OPS of .769. At the same time, the first 2 batters of the Rays crushed 158 home runs and had an OPS of .750. Moreover, the first 2 batters in the Brewers lineup and the first 2 batters in the Blue Jays each smashed at least 150 home runs from 2010 to 2013. So, from 2010 to 2013, it wasn’t so common to see the first 2 batters in each team’s lineup have an OPS over .800. Over the span of those 4 years, in total, there were only 4 teams, in which their first 2 batters in the batting order hit at least 150 home runs.
Now, let’s take a look at the stats from 2020 to 2023. Firstly, please remember that the 2020 season was a shortened season. Hence, it’s not so surprising to see that there are fewer hits from the first 2 batters in each team’s lineup. But, they crushed more home runs. For example, from 2020 to 2023, the first 2 batters in the Yankees’ lineup blasted 229 home runs, in total. From 2010 to 2013, the first 2 batters in the Yankees’ lineup smashed 166 home runs in 6000+ plate appearances. Moreover, we can see that several teams’ first 2 batters are quite dangerous because they have an OPS over .800.
Finally, let’s take a look at stolen bases. The first 2 batters in the Padres had 256 swipes from 2010 to 2013. From 2020 to 2023, the number drops to only 132. Well, people might say that there were only 60 games in the 2020 season and it’s not a good comparison. So, let’s look at those 162-game seasons. In 2010, the first 2 batters in the Padres’ lineup had 39 swipes. In 2011 and 2012, the first 2 batters in the Padres’ lineup each stole 75 bases. In 2013, they had 67 steals. From 2021 to 2023, there are only 2 times that a team’s first 2 batters in the lineup have 70+ steals in a single season. Both happened in 2023. The Braves’ first 2 batters had 87 swipes. In the meantime, the first 2 batters in the A’s lineup had 73 steals.
Previously, the first 2 batters in the lineup were normally good contact hitters with good speed. Additionally, the second batter in the lineup usually had a good ability to bunt. Hence, we can see that from 2010 to 2013, the first 2 batters in the majors didn’t crush many home runs and no team’s first 2 batters had an OPS of .800 or higher. But, things have changed. From 2020 to 2023, more teams are willing to put hitters with good power at the beginning of the lineup. It has become more often to see the first 2 batters crush home runs in baseball games.
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