Strike percentage

[CoogansBluff]

I didn't say it was totally meaningless - it just isn't a reliable gauge by itself of a pitcher's performance. ERA is the most important gauge and everything else is secondary at best.

I didn't say that strike percentage was as meaningful as ERA. I just said that good pitchers tend to have high strike percentages, and that the statistic is meaningful. It is comparable in meaning to SO/9, BB/9 and even S0/BB, stats that are more commonly cited.

On the other hand ERA is strongly influenced by the strength of your defense. ...

Strike percentage is one that the pitcher has the most control over. I know that other team can swing at bad pitches and the ump could have a big strike zone... But the good pitcher takes advantage of that.

Good points.

ERA is also strongly influenced by the sometimes random order in which hits take place.

out-out-HR-1B-1B-out = 1 run
out-out-1B-1B-HR-out = 3 runs

 

[cuzmail]

That's how it is with one of my DD's. She pitches slower than her younger sister by a few MPH, but her arm has a weird twist to it that causes her balls to spin a lot. When batters do make contact it is usually a high fly ball or a weak grounder (and it usually takes a wicked bounce). She is concerned about her speed, but I say if the hitters can't make good contact, don't worry about it. So her K numbers may not be up, but she wins games.

Exactly what my DD did in 12U. Average speed so she as not a power pitcher, but a really good movement pitcher. She had some K's from fooling the batters swinging, but mostly weak grounders back to her or infield pop ups. Many innings with less than an average of 2 pitches/batter. That won't show in the the K column.

Weird, but now in 14U (only 4 games so far) the K's and hits are up with fewer weak contacts? She hasn't settled in at the new distance yet. I hope it comes soon! She is adjusting to the extra three feet with her movement.

 

[JAD]

I am far from an expert on the subject, but I would estimate my DD's strike percentage between 65-70%. Some of those are not really strikes, but if a batter swings at it, or fouls it off, they are!

It can also depend on the umpire! Last night in HS ball we had an umpire who's strike zone was the size of a pie pan. If the pitch not waist high down the middle, it was a ball.....very frustrating for a pitcher, but a batters dream! My DD went 2-3 at the plate with two stand-up doubles! LOL

 

[maksoftball]

I am far from an expert on the subject, but I would estimate my DD's strike percentage between 65-70%. Some of those are not really strikes, but if a batter swings at it, or fouls it off, they are!

It can also depend on the umpire! Last night in HS ball we had an umpire who's strike zone was the size of a pie pan. If the pitch not waist high down the middle, it was a ball.....very frustrating for a pitcher, but a batters dream! My DD went 2-3 at the plate with two stand-up doubles! LOL

And the way a good pitcher wins that one is by fooling the batter with wicked spins...gotta mess with their heads. That's a real battle, IMO...especially when they get older.

 

[Dave619]

70-75% is too high if you're facing good hitters. MLB pitchers are usually in the 60-66% range. Going much below that usually means being behind in the count too much.

Strike% isn't a meaningful stat for gauging a pitcher's performance. It can be useful when trying to determine why a pitcher's performance wasn't good. Even then, two pitchers could have the same strike% and vastly different results. One threw a shutout by consistently getting ahead in the count and then purposely throwing pitches outside the zone trying to get the batter to chase and/or set up the next pitch. The other pitcher got behind in the count a lot and ended up giving up a lot of hits and runs.

I would agree that 70-75% is not typical or necessary to be an effective pitcher. One of the pitchers on my DDs team has a higher strike % than the two bracket pitchers and she gives up a lot of hard hits. I think strike % is just a piece of the puzzle when looking at the stats. I think the K/BB, WHIP, ERA, weak/hard hits % along with strike % are all good stats to use together to give you a true picture of how a pitcher is performing.