Comments on: Scoring by inning: AL vs NL (PART 2)

By: zeke003

zeke003 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:29:37 +0000

Great info! I wonder how much additional support an analysis of “plate appearances by position,” leaving pitchers and DH’s out of each league would show. I think it would lean toward many more at bats for the AL, thus more run production due to higher team BA in the AL. DH’s don’t just improve a team’s offense by their difference between them and pitchers, they also keep innings alive where pitchers just quietly K and sit down. Its a multiplier.
Thanks

By: ABL73

ABL73 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:51:20 +0000

Andy…thanks…I went back read the first post.

Johnny…excellent point about pinch hitters. It makes sense they would not fare as great as a full time DH. Plus most pinch hitter aren’t tehbest hitters or they would be already be playing or in the AL.

By: Johnny Twisto

Johnny Twisto — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:16:27 +0000

That 2nd graph is very interesting. Not surprising at all, but to see it laid out like that is fascinating.

Some the remaining difference between AL/NL over the last few innings is that PH have an inherent disadvantage. I believe Tango and MGL’s _The Book_ touched on this more extensively. Players do not hit as well when acting as PH, on top of PH usually being inferior hitters to begin with (not inferior to those they replace, of course, but compared to regulars).

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:24:41 +0000

Yes—Part 1 of this post from yesterday explains about the drop in the 9th inning being due to home teams winning and closers.

By: ABL73

ABL73 — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:16:30 +0000

Andy…two very interesting and solid posts. Actually my first day here after seeing the link on bblog “http://mfooz.com/bblog/”

There is no doubt the pitcher batting in the NL causes runs to go down.

It was also interesting to see the dominance in closers as the run production drops for both leagues in the 9th inning. Is the drop also from the home team not having to bat when leading?

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:45:06 +0000

Oh yeah–I don’t think style of play is different either. As I wrote above here, my paragraph about style of play in the previous post is just wrong.

By: vonhayes

vonhayes — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:34:13 +0000

Great posts. Your conclusion seems pretty solid.

I’d be interested to hear counter-arguments. I just don’t think that the overall style of play is any different between the two leagues, in this day and age, and would not be a suitable explanation.