Is a strike a strike or all strikes are not equal

Is a strike a strike or all strikes are not equal

Many aggressive hitters feel that if a pitch is in the strike zone it should be hit. This thought leads to many easy outs, hitters putting themselves out or settling for simple contact rather than working to get a pitch located that can be driven. The disciplined hitter is working pitch by pitch to get something to hit hard hopefully in the air. This hitter is also skilled to be able to settle for contact when the situation calls for it such as two strike hitting or driving in a runner from third.

In the Ted Williams era the strike zone contained 77 locations, the strike zone of today is smaller containing 54 balls. He would have been able to cover 60% of today’s zone with a batting average over .340. In the current analytical world OPS is more important than batting average and rightly so. No one knows what that would have meant to the game’s best hitter ever. Chances are that covering 60% 0f the strike zone with an OPS in the .800’s in today’s game is extremely rare or possibly non existent.

Strike Zone diagrams have been replaced with heat maps showing the portions of the strike zone covered by individuals. The idea remains the same however the look is different. There are many sites on the web where an individual can access both pitching and hitting heat maps. This information is available to anyone willing to do the research. Results show that pitches in the big part of the zone yield more production than those on the fringes.

It becomes the task of the hitter to maintain aggressiveness but also patience pitch by pitch giving the pitcher an opportunity to make a mistake. Hitters know the game is based on percentages, sometimes the pitcher will execute his locations, in general that most likely will be a low scoring affair. The more pitches a pitcher is forced to make the better are the chances he will make a mistake. Skilled hitters understand the game and refuse to panic when pitchers are executing.

It is possible to see hitters driving fringe locations night after night over the course of fifteen games. This isn’t the norm. Checkout the heatmaps of the best hitters in the game hitting against the best pitchers in the game to see where the high OPS numbers are located in the strike zone. 

Developing pitch recognition and all the details involved in the process should be the goal of all young aspiring hitters. This developed skill will always give a hitter a better chance for success in a game where 30% is considered good.