
Forum �bersicht Suche Login Registrieren Forums-Blog Landkarte

13	November 2018

Conforto�s rebounded very well

NEW YORK (AP) � The most-heard sound at major league ballparks this year was �Strike three!�A whiff of offense would be nice rather than all those nights filled with nonstop whiffs.Strikeouts will exceed hits over a full season for the first time in major league history. The overall batting average has dropped to its lowest level since 1972 http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-caleb-joseph-jersey , the year before the designated hitter. Lefty hitters � facing smothering defensive shifts � have fared even worse, with their lowest average since 1968, before the pitcher�s mound was lowered.Starters throw fewer pitches and hard-throwing relievers are changed more frequently. The game has transformed at a dizzying pace.�We need to thoughtfully review the trends,� baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday.Manfred looks ahead to a postseason featuring 20-year-old Atlanta star Ronald Acuna Jr., Boston, the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs and possibly Los Angeles Dodgers, too.But much of the offseason will be spent analyzing historic changes.There were 40,196 strikeouts and 40,098 hits through Wednesday, and Ks exceeded hits over a full month for the first time in April, then again in June and September. Before this year, the previous low differential for a full month was in April 2017, when there were 138 more hits than strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Strikeouts have set a record for the 11th consecutive season, surpassing last year�s 40,104.The .248 big league batting average is down seven percentage points from last year and a Steroids Era high of .271 in 1999, part of an all-or-nothing approach at the plate. And the .244 average for left-handed hitters is the lowest since .242 in 1968 Roberto Alomar Jersey , according to Elias, diminished by defensive shifts placing three infielders on the right side.No wonder batters swing for the fences.�Years ago, if a player had more strikeouts than hits, they didn�t get out of Class A ball,� said Dan Duquette, the Baltimore Orioles� executive vice president of baseball operations, who went on to suggest his solution.�Ted Williams had some good ideas: three balls and you go to first base; make home plate smaller so you don�t have to defend as much territory,� Duquette said.�It�s something to consider, because, really, it�s an entertainment business, right? That�s what the fans want to see. It�s a good place to start the discussion. Who am I to argue with the greatest hitter that ever lived?�The analytics revolution has metamorphosed this most traditional of sports. Innings per starting pitcher dropped from 5.89 in 2012 to 5.38 this year and pitches per start from 95 to 88 over the same period, according to Sports Info Solutions.Pitchers per game for both teams rose from 7.68 to 8.34 over that span, according to Major League Baseball, with average fastball velocity increasing from 91.6 mph to 92.8 mph over the past six years, according to Sports Info.�The players have been forced to adapt a lot over the last few years based on the changes that are being recommended to them, that are being guided by those not on the field. So the game has changed quite a bit http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey ,� said players� association head Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman. �The question that I believe we all need to ask is based on where the game is, where the game appears to be going, if the current baseball fans find it appealing, if they are interested in the way the game is being played.�No big league team had fewer than 50 sacrifice bunts in 1972 and no club dropped below double digits until Texas had nine in 2005. This year, Toronto has five, Oakland six, and Boston and the Los Angeles Angels seven each.No pitcher has thrown more than two complete games. The previous low for a leader was four.James Shields with 11 in 2011 has been the only pitcher to reach double digits since Randy Johnson in 1999. The game was far different when Fernando Valenzuela had 20 in 1986; this year�s major league total is 41.�You see the bullpen earlier,� said Colorado�s Carlos Gonzalez, the 2010 NL batting champion. �Back in the day, the biggest thing for a pitcher was going the distance. You don�t see a lot of complete games anymore. I feel like as a hitter, you have a better chance if you face a guy more than two or three times. Nowadays, you might face a starter twice and then get a lot of matchups: lefties on lefties, righties on righties.�Scoring at 4.45 runs per team per game is down only slightly from last year�s 4.65 and up from its recent low of 4.07 in 2014, with home runs averaging 1.15 per club per game, a decrease from last year�s 1.26 record.The �Three True Outcomes� have become the talk of dugouts, front offices and fans: walks Babe Ruth Jersey , strikeouts and home runs.�People get locked into one type of swing, and they�re going to stick with it no matter what you do on the defensive side,� said Minnesota manager Paul Molitor, a Hall of Famer. �I think that�s why the effectiveness continues on the shift.�Manfred says changes are understandable.�I am not one to wail about the use of analytics,� he said. �You can�t stop really competitive, smart people.�MLB and the union already have been talking. Their challenge is to decide whether narrowly tailored rules changes will counter changes, such as the use of minor league options and the disabled list to expand pitching staffs from 12-13 to what in effect is 17-18 for many clubs. The sides had an agreement in the last round of bargaining to expand the active roster from 25 to 26 from the start of the season through Aug. 31 and to lower it from 40 to 28 from Sept. 1 on, but the players backed out. Most teams would have carried another reliever.�I think it would have solved an even bigger problem, which is playing games differently in the month of September,� Manfred said. �It was a trade that I was prepared to make at the time I was doing the Basic Agreement. It was a trade I�m prepared to make now.�One trend players and management like: the average time of a nine-inning game has dropped to 3:00:35 from a record 3:05:11 last year, helped by new restrictions on mound visits. Trips to the mound without a pitching change have dropped from 7.41 to 4.00.�I don�t know if that�s necessarily the criteria as much as has it adversely affected the guys on the mound?� Clark said. �And the commentary that we�ve heard is no.�__AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley and AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report. DETROIT (AP) � Jeimer Candelario left the St. Louis Cardinals with a sinking feeling.Candelario connected on a 102 mph sinker from Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks, hitting a two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday night that gave the Detroit Tigers a 5-3 victory.�There are guys who throw a soft 100 mph fastball � you can see it coming and you can time it,� Tigers catcher James McCann said. �Hicks is throwing a hard 103. It is right on top of you, and it moves. It�s tough to make contact, and he barreled it up.�Hicks, who was facing his sixth batter, gave Candelario most of the credit.�I was sharp and I was trying to pound the strike zone http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-david-ortiz-jersey ,� he said. �He just got good wood on it and the ball left the yard. I can�t mourn a mistake. I just have to get better.�Candelario�s second career game-ending homer was made more special by the presence of his family.�This is a blast,� he said in a postgame television interview. �To do this, not just in front of the fans, but in front of my family.�Marcell Ozuna homered twice for St. Louis, which has lost four of six. The Cardinals hold a slim lead for the second NL wild-card spot.�I�m trying to be more aggressive,� Ozuna said. �When my shoulder was hurting, I couldn�t stay inside, but now I feel better and I can hit that pitch.�The Tigers won their third in a row.�That�s a lot of fun,� manager Ron Gardenhire said. �Those guys are in a pennant race and we�re not, but we stepped up and got a victory. Those are the moments you enjoy.�Hicks (3-4) retired the first five batters he faced, but rookie Victor Reyes slapped a 102 mph fastball to left with one out in the ninth, and Candelario hit his 18th homer on the next pitch.�Candy is still learning at this level, but he�s a strong young man,� Gardenhire said. �He has some tough at-bats, but he can also do that.�Detroit closer Shane Greene (3-6) worked a scoreless ninth.Tigers starter Daniel Norris allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out seven and gave up both of Ozuna�s homers.�I learned not to throw him a fastball over the plate,� he said.Norris was making his second start after missing four months with groin surgery and was starting at home for the first time since April 20.�It was great to be out there in front of our fans, wearing our white jerseys and feeling healthy Bobby Doerr Jersey ,� he said. �It�s been a long road back.�Cardinals starter Austin Gomber gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out six.Ozuna led off the second with a home run, much to the delight of the large contingent of Cardinals fans. The Tigers made it 1-all in the bottom of the inning on Dawel Lugo�s RBI groundout.Ozuna connected for his 20th homer to begin the fourth. He also hit two home runs against Washington on Tuesday.The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in the fifth when Kolten Wong doubled, took third when Norris balked and scored on Francisco Pena�s sacrifice fly.Gomber retired the first two batters in the bottom half, but Reyes beat out a bunt single and the Tigers loaded the bases on Candelario�s base hit and Goodrum�s walk. Nicholas Castellanos lined a tying, two-run single.TRAINER�S ROOMCardinals: C Yadier Molina is expected to miss the three-game series in Detroit with a hamstring injury.REYES KEEPS IMPROVINGReyes, a Rule 5 pick who had never played above Double-A ball before this season, was hitting .118 with no walks or extra-base hits after the first 25 games of his career. Since then, playing more regularly, he is batting .261 in 60 games and hit his first career homer last week in New York.�Once I gave him a chance, he�s worked hard to become a major league player, and we expect him to stay here next year,� Gardenhire said.THROWBACK WEEKENDThe Tigers are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their 1968 World Series win over the Cardinals during the weekend series. Five players from the 1968 team threw out first pitches on Friday, and a ceremony will be held before Saturday�s game.UP NEXTThe teams continue the series Saturday night. Matthew Boyd (9-12, 4.24) will start for the Tigers against Jack Flaherty (8-6, 2.83).