tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888411.post7157477871466424799..comments2024-03-23T05:20:41.018-06:00Comments on Dan Agonistes: Beautiful Theories and Ugly FactsDan Agonisteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07863051818485888739noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888411.post-3688002824156451262008-01-27T21:48:00.000-07:002008-01-27T21:48:00.000-07:00I think your supposition that batters tried harder...I think your supposition that batters tried harder to get out of the way in the past is certainly true. Watching games from the 1970s and even the 80s makes that pretty clear. It would be interesting to take a sample of games from each era and do as you say - I'm sure it would narrow the gap. But of course hitters had to get out of the way back then because the brushback pitches were often up and in whereas the kinds of pitches that Craig Biggio and Jason Kendall get hit with are often curve balls that don't break or sliders that get away.Dan Agonisteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863051818485888739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888411.post-30681067386488563832008-01-24T10:25:00.000-07:002008-01-24T10:25:00.000-07:00Armor or no armor, it seems that players now are l...Armor or no armor, it seems that players now are less willing to get out of the way of a pitch (unless it's thrown at their heads). Gibson, Drysdale, et al have comparatively low HBP rates but could possibly have higher knockdown rates.<BR/><BR/>But how to measure? One could watch the HBPs and subjectively call the pitch "no way to avoid", "maybe could have avoided", and "took one for the team" (or, in the case of Jeter, "ducked into the pitch"). If the vast majority of the pitches are one of the latter categories, this could explain the increase.<BR/><BR/>I'd also question the claim that a low-scoring environment makes an HBP more costly, since a runner on first is more likely to be stranded then than in a high-scoring environment.parinellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03802604259779936852noreply@blogger.com