Trying to rid baseball of batting average sounds like the new generation of activist wondering why we have separate bathrooms. BA tells many tells of how a player excels in situational baseball. There's a reason why Maldy is always considered to be a failure when he bats with 2 outs and runners on base. A low batting average tells a pitcher that he can throw strikes on the corner because the batter can't put the ball in play effectively so why be cute and end up walking him when the chances are 85% of the time he'd get himself out. The same pitcher wouldn't do that against a .300 hitter regardless of his walk rate. Now lets move on from this dribble before we get labeled newstatsaphobic
They go hand in hand equally. Bases loaded... 2 outs... guy at the plate has a BA of .350 but an OBP of .360. Pitcher figures the odds of the guy taking close pitches for a walk are very small and throws all off speed pitches slightly out of the zone for the K or induce a ground ball. Pitcher's advantage. If the pitcher just saw .360 as OB%, how would he know that the batter doesn't walk very much? Perhaps that batter hits at a .170 clip with .360 OB%. Then the pitcher could tell that it's best to throw heaters passed him than to dangle the edges where the batter is inclined to take. Every stat has a purpose (Some more than others), but the basic stats of avg, ob%, slug% combined can tell how often a batter gets on base and at what power potential. Add in Runs scored and RBIs and you get a more complete picture of what the batter is capable of. But again, I choose to look at those same stats in clutch situations to determine a players worth in the post season.
why would a pitcher give a batter something hittable in the zone if the batter will chase deceptive pitches outside of the zone? you have to give the pitcher a reason to challenge you in the zone
All walks are singles. Hits can be doubles, triples, and homers. If you are only looking at those 2 stats there is absolutely a scenario where the higher BA could be a better indicator of success than OBA. Of course, there are other stats in combination that tell the story better.
Ok so literally you are right. That is a .500 BA and .100 OBP But at the same time you proved my point about BA being an incomplete stat. That scenario the hitter had 9 great results in 10 PA but only a .500 BA
I don't understand your point here. A guy could have a low batting average because he consistently swings at bad pitches off the plate instead of forcing the pitcher to pitch in the strike zone. Do you mean Batting Average for Balls in Play, as well as swing speed and velocity? That would make more sense.
Also the most Sac flies by a player in a season every is only 19, so that scenario is highly improbable.
Dusty is going to Dusty. Played him too much and too often in the spring and through the summer. He came back and was eased in with some off days and then BOOM everyday again - has started 11 games in a row.
