Advanced Hitting Stats Request

[Vic]

I have to tell you that I love the advanced stats that were added a few months back. Of course, the more that I have access to the more I want to see! There are a few that I would like to see added if possible and if there is interest from the user base and FTM staff. The stats have to do with some things that we stress as coaches and some things about our players that is helpful to know. Stats don't tell you everything you need to know about a player but they can give you trends and help you identify areas that a player may need help with. Here are a few batting stats that I am interested in.

Performance with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs
We work with our kids to play good fundamental baseball. We teach them that there are situations in the game where success is measured by their ability and willingness to put the team's goals ahead of their traditional goals (i.e. batting average). This situation is one that is important to us. Our ability to win games is often dependent on how well we do in scoring runs from 3rd base with less than two outs. I would like to see a set of stats that show:

• The number of plate appearances and at-bats with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs
• The number of times the batter successfully scored that run (via walk, hit, hbp, ground out, FC, Sac fly, Sac bunt, ROE, etc.). Right now I don't care as much about how they did it as I do that they did or didn't. If it is too much to present all of the individual ways then just presenting the number of times they did it successfully is fine.
• The success percentage

Performance with two outs and runners in scoring position
This is another area that can be huge in games. Some kids seem to be better at this than others. If there was ever a stat for "clutch hitting" this would be it in my opinion. I would like to see a set of stats that show:

• The number of plate appearances and at-bats with two outs and runners in scoring position
• The number of hits and walks in that situation
• The percentage of hits and walks per number of times in that situation
• The number of times the batter successfully scored at least 1 runner in that situation (not the total number of RBIs)
• The percentage of the number of times successfully scored at least 1 runner

The reason for the spread of stats is that sometimes the batter will do exactly what he should do (i.e. a single into right field) yet the runner from second still didn't score for a variety of reasons not related to the batter (i.e. slow runner, runner stumbled, coach held up runner, etc.). That shouldn't count against the batter because he did succeed in that situation even though the runner didn't score.

I am also more interested in the number of times and percentage of success than I am in total number of RBIs. For example a batter could come up with runners on 2nd and 3rd and hit a 3 run homerun. He could then get up 2 more times and fail. His success percentage would be %33 and he would have 3RBIs. Another batter could go 3 for 3 in that situation but only knock in 1 run each time. His success percentage would be %100 yet he would still only have 3RBIs. I am more interested in the success percentage but if others want to know the total number of RBIs then so be it.

Two Strike Hitting
This is an area that is an art in baseball. We stress to our kids the mental approach that they should have at the plate and how they should be thinking and ready to hit in different counts. We find that there are some kids that seem to thrive when they have two strikes on them. They aren't phased by it and do a great job of hitting the ball where it is pitched. There are others who have a much tougher time mentally with 2 strikes on them. I'd like to see some stats that show actual performance so that I have a factual basis for what I think I am seeing. I would like to see:

• The number of plate appearances and at-bats where the batter had two strikes on them
• The number of times the batter successfully reached base by hit, walk, HBP, Catcher's interference, etc. I don't want ROEs or FCs included.
• The percentage of the number of times successful with 2 strikes on them

I don't think it is possible given the stats that are available today but I would love to know the number of times the batter hit successfully to the opposite field in that situation as well. I don't think you record those kind of hit locations statistically today, do you?


Thank you for a great product and thank you for considering these additions!

- Vic

[FTMSupport]

We will add your suggestions to our enhancement list.

You do know we have at bats / results with RISP, right? This stat alone will alleviate your concern that "sometimes the batter will do exactly what he should do (i.e. a single into right field) yet the runner from second still didn't score for a variety of reasons not related to the batter".

What is it that you would be trying to distinguish between a runner just being on third vs RISP? Do you feel a batter is going to do something different with a runner on third than they would with RISP?

And why are you trying to distinguish batting with RISP with 2 out vs < 2 outs? Are you saying a batter behaves differently when there are two outs? So the player that comes up with RISP with 1 out and strikes out is in some way different than a player that comes up with RISP and 2 outs? (or the players both get hits in the same situation... they are treated or act differently because there are 1 out vs 2 outs?)

[Vic]

Thank you for your reply. You asked some good questions and I will attempt to give you a more clear answer as to why I would like to see those particular stats.

We will add your suggestions to our enhancement list.

You do know we have at bats / results with RISP, right? This stat alone will alleviate your concern that "sometimes the batter will do exactly what he should do (i.e. a single into right field) yet the runner from second still didn't score for a variety of reasons not related to the batter".

I believe this question was in response to my request for stats regarding "Performance with two outs and runners in scoring position". Yes, I am aware of the stats that are already there and am happy to have them. The thing that the current stats don't capture, however, is the situations. When there are two outs with runners in scoring position the batter cannot succeed by advancing a runner on an out (i.e. Ground out, Sac Bunt, Sac Fly). He/she pretty much as to come through with a hit (or BB, HBP ,etc. with bases loaded) to score the run. Batting avg and other results with RISP also don't properly capture the success of the batter scoring a runner via an out (see the answer to your next question below for more of an explanation).

What is it that you would be trying to distinguish between a runner just being on third vs RISP? Do you feel a batter is going to do something different with a runner on third than they would with RISP?

I believe this question was in response to my request for stats regarding "Performance with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs". Yes, there is a difference in a batter's job when there is a runner on 3rd base vs just in scoring position (i.e. 2nd base) with less than two outs. In this situation it is the batter's job to score that runner from third by putting the ball in the play, preferably on the ground and on the right side of the infield. Success is measured by scoring that runner via walk, hit, hbp, ground out, FC, Sac fly, Sac bunt, ROE, etc. A strikeout, pop-up or line drive to an infielder are the things you want to avoid.

And why are you trying to distinguish batting with RISP with 2 out vs < 2 outs? Are you saying a batter behaves differently when there are two outs? So the player that comes up with RISP with 1 out and strikes out is in some way different than a player that comes up with RISP and 2 outs? (or the players both get hits in the same situation... they are treated or act differently because there are 1 out vs 2 outs?)

Good question. In addition to breaking out the stats for the reasons mentioned above, this goes back to that issues of what constitutes a good at-bat and the concept of clutch hitting. A strikeout is pretty much a bad at-bat in all situations so that isn't the best example to use. Let me illustrate this a few different ways.

Suppose we have a lead-off hitter that walks and steals second on the first pitch of the next at-bat. He is now on 2nd with no outs. Our next batter hits a 4-3 ground out and the runner on 2nd advances to 3rd. In the stats we have now that 2nd batter failed. In reality, that batter did his job in advancing the runner to 3rd so that he is on 3rd with less than two outs. (BTW, I would love it if we had a stat for advancing runners to 3B with less than two outs but that would be asking for a lot). The next batter hits a another 4-3 ground out scoring the runner from 3rd. We just scored a run in the inning with just a walk and with no other hits. This is how you manufacture runs without the luxury of grouping hits. As coaches we would love it if we were knocking the cover off the ball but the reality is that we play a lot of games where we have 3 to 5 hits in the game. Sometimes the kids have an off day at the plate. Sometimes the pitchers you face are difficult to handle. You need to execute and play good fundamental baseball to score runs when you aren't getting hits. This is what we teach our kids. Success doesn't always mean getting a hit. Success means having a productive at-bat that moves the base-runners or scores them. Success means understanding the situation and achieving a result that helps the team.

Here is another scenario that illustrates the flip side of this. Suppose through an inning we have managed to get a runner to 2nd base but there are now 2 outs. The next batter cannot score that runner unless he/she gets a hit. In this situation we are teaching our kids to do the best they can to find a pitch they can hit hard. Be ready to jump on a fastball over the plate. Work the count. Hit the outside pitch to the opposite field. Take the walk if you don't have anything good to hit. That is all we can ask of them. However, for whatever reason, some kids thrive in this scenario and some don't. I would like to have the stats that show how kids have preformed with two outs and runners in scoring position because having the ability to see who handles this well and who doesn't helps me to plan my lineup and make decisions about pinch-hitters or subs. More importantly, it helps me to see which kids need to work on things more during the chances that we have to to work on situational hitting in practice.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks again,
- Vic

[dhardy123]

I would suggest looking into using the APIs. All of these stats and more can easily be calculated using gamedetails.

[FTMSupport]

We will keep your requests on the enhancement list, but would argue that some of the rationale is flawed and can not be tracked by the typical scorekeeper.

In order to know that the 4-3 ground out with < 2 outs was a "good" thing, you would have to know the intention of the batter. A typical scorekeeper in the stands has no way of knowing the intention of the batter. Maybe the batter was trying to hit a home run, but accidentally tipped the ball toward the second baseman and the runner scored as a result. The only way "intent" is typically known by a scorekeeper is when a bunt is laid down that is clearly a sacrifice, and the batter is rewarded with a sacrifice in that scenario.

Using the same example (runner on 3rd, < 2 outs), let's say the batter goes up with the "intent" of hitting it on the ground on the right side and "accidentally" hits a line drive single to left field. Are you going to equivalently "dock" him in some way for not grounding to the right side? Or heaven forbid he hits a home run by accident when he was supposed to be grounding the ball to the right side - is he penalized for not keeping the ball on the ground to the right side.

The fundamentals you are trying to teach are great fundamental baseball, but trying to track those kind of fundamentals using statistics (which are supposed to be objective) seems like it may be hard to do.

Maybe there should be something outside of a scorekeeping app for coaches that tracks coaches instructions to actual results. Coach expects a ground ball to the right side, it does not happen, player did not follow through. Coach expects a sac bunt with 1 strike, and the player misses the bunt for strike two (taking sac bunt out of play for most people), the player did not follow through (this can not be tracked purely with stats). Pitcher is told to throw a pitch low and away and he throws it right down the middle and the batter hits a home run (or not), the coach would want to track that.

Maybe it would be a "fundamental tacker" app as opposed to a scorekeeping app, and for every "situation", there would be an expected set of outcomes the coach can instruct their players to perform, and they are rated on the follow through for the situation. It would not fit into a traditional scorekeeping app, but could be useful for player improvement and tracking the more subjective things that are a part of baseball.

[FTMSupport]

fyi, we have two Analytic Partners (TruMedia and EdgeHQ.com) that can provide some of this as well. Below is a screenshot from TruMedia showing you can check batting results for a hitter based on runners just on specific bases (including the hit charts). It does not allow filtering by outs (2 vs < 2), but gets most of what you are asking for. You may want to contact them about adding a filter for Out counts to their data.

We don't know the specific data EdgeHQ can provide, but if you contact them, they can help more.

Both of these products can take iScore data and allow you to do deeper analytics.

[Vic]

Thanks again for your reply.

I understand your objections but I don't necessarily agree with your arguments. The reason why I originally left off the stat about moving runners from 2nd to 3rd is that I agree with you that it is more of a subjective fundamental issue than a stat issue. Although, iScore does allow customizable stats for what a Quality At Bat is. You could argue that those stats QAB stats subjective as well.

I think the rest of what I originally requested are objective stats. Did the batter score the runner from 3rd with less than two outs or not. Did the batter get a hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position or not.

These starts aren't specifically tracked by MLB so I understand if you have an objection. If I can pull the info that I am interested in from the APIs then that may be the best solution.

Thanks again for all you guys do. iScore is truly a fantastic app and I appreciate your willingness to communicate with your users.

- Vic

[FTMSupport]

Check out the screenshot of the TruMedia add on in the previous post as well... it covers most of what you are asking for (with the exception of the w/2 outs). As noted, you may want to ask TruMedia about adding a # of outs option to their filters.

[Vic]

Thanks. I will check it out.

- Vic