Not sure if I have a point to what I’m about to post, but I did some research comparing MLB hitting statistics to NCAA hitting statistics.
What started me on this search was that I noticed that MLB hitters are striking out 1 out of every 5 plate appearances this season. (Yes, ‘plate appearances,’ not just at-bats.’ One in five is a whiff.)
Made me wonder whether modeling the swing after the MLB standard – high K’s, high HR – is such a good thing for each and every softball player. Maybe there is something to be said for a more conservative, put-the-ball-in-play approach.
So I compared MLB stats to NCAA stats. Specifically, I used stats from one very strong conference (SEC) in conference games only. (Using one strong conference and only the conference games eliminates some of the inflated stats that occur when Florida plays Gardner-Webb.)
What I found is that MLB stats and SEC stats are pretty similar.
For every 600 plate appearances:
HR – 16 MLB, 20 SEC
SO – 121 MLB, 103 SEC
AVG - .251 MLB, .259 SEC
In MLB, there are more doubles (27 to 21). Triples are the same (2 to 2).
In the SEC, there are more walks (67 to 49), stolen bases (20 to 9), reached-on-error (fielding PCT is about .960 vs. the MLB .980), more sac bunts (11 to 5) and therefore more runs (90 to 67 in 600 plate appearances). So in softball, if you get on base, you are much more likely to score than in baseball.
In the SEC, there is a more clear distinction between power hitters and singles hitters. Seven of the top 15 hitters in the SEC hit 0 home runs in their 24 SEC games. On most MLB teams, everybody with more than 100 at-bats has at last 1 HR.
I don’t know what to conclude from this except that the games are more similar than I might've thought. The stereotype of fastpitch being a pitcher-dominated sport doesn’t hold. MLB hitters are more likely to strike out, and NCAA hitters are more likely to go yard.
Given the fact that there are more HR in college, more walks, more steals, more chances to reach on error, it makes me wonder if the sac bunt is over-used.
Curious to see what others read into this.
What started me on this search was that I noticed that MLB hitters are striking out 1 out of every 5 plate appearances this season. (Yes, ‘plate appearances,’ not just at-bats.’ One in five is a whiff.)
Made me wonder whether modeling the swing after the MLB standard – high K’s, high HR – is such a good thing for each and every softball player. Maybe there is something to be said for a more conservative, put-the-ball-in-play approach.
So I compared MLB stats to NCAA stats. Specifically, I used stats from one very strong conference (SEC) in conference games only. (Using one strong conference and only the conference games eliminates some of the inflated stats that occur when Florida plays Gardner-Webb.)
What I found is that MLB stats and SEC stats are pretty similar.
For every 600 plate appearances:
HR – 16 MLB, 20 SEC
SO – 121 MLB, 103 SEC
AVG - .251 MLB, .259 SEC
In MLB, there are more doubles (27 to 21). Triples are the same (2 to 2).
In the SEC, there are more walks (67 to 49), stolen bases (20 to 9), reached-on-error (fielding PCT is about .960 vs. the MLB .980), more sac bunts (11 to 5) and therefore more runs (90 to 67 in 600 plate appearances). So in softball, if you get on base, you are much more likely to score than in baseball.
In the SEC, there is a more clear distinction between power hitters and singles hitters. Seven of the top 15 hitters in the SEC hit 0 home runs in their 24 SEC games. On most MLB teams, everybody with more than 100 at-bats has at last 1 HR.
I don’t know what to conclude from this except that the games are more similar than I might've thought. The stereotype of fastpitch being a pitcher-dominated sport doesn’t hold. MLB hitters are more likely to strike out, and NCAA hitters are more likely to go yard.
Given the fact that there are more HR in college, more walks, more steals, more chances to reach on error, it makes me wonder if the sac bunt is over-used.
Curious to see what others read into this.