Congratulations! In a mere 112 MLB at-bats, you have officially achieved Joey Gallo 2.0 status.
Over Gallo's 10-season career, his batting average stood at .194. But let's ponder his salad years, Gallo's first seven in Texas, when he twice hit 40 HRs and made the all-star team. Over those seven years, he batted - gulp - .211.
Right now, you're hitting - gulp - .212.
Over his 10-year career, Gallo fanned 1,292 times - roughly 130 times per season. With the Rangers, in his halcyon years, he struck out 797 times - about 113 per season.
You're currently at 47, well on your way to beat him.
Gallo finished his career with 208 HRs. With Texas, he hit 145 - about 20 per season.
You have five - on your way to about 20.
And don't get me wrong. Your home runs are glorious. The ball springs off your bat, SpaceX trajectories, (and Fun Fact: The time it takes each ball to reach the upper decks corresponds exactly to the duration of the human male orgasm!) Your HRs make us believe. Trouble is, your strikeouts make us remember the horror show that was Gallo's final incarnation with the Yankees: a .159 batting average and 194 strikeouts - 48 percent of his ABs - over two years.
Unfortunately, this fan base all too well recalls Joey Gallo.
In fact, I doubt you'll reach seven years in NY without serious adjustments.
Sir, with all due respect, you must bunt! Gallo did it. It's part of the reason why he lasted 10 years. You must bunt - push the ball between the pitcher and 1B, and use your speed to beat the defense. Right now, you're wasting that speed. Bunt enough times, and you'll force opposing 1B to move in, creating defensive gaps. Learn to bunt, and you can maybe add 20 points to your BA.
Yesterday, in the 10th, with the tying run on second, you came to bat with one job: Advance the runner. The Braves didn't even bother to cover the chance of a bunt. Their 1B played back, daring you to lay one down. And you struck out swinging, uppercuts on balls high and inside, ridiculously unhittable. They never worried about a bunt. They knew you wouldn't. Or couldn't.
Hey, I'm not blaming you for the loss. It was a team effort. The Yankees fanned nine times, and these days, that's nothing. But you are here under a strikeout cloud, and when Cody Bellinger returns - which could be soon - your playing time is about to become zilch. You might even find yourself in Scranton with Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez - the Big Three Former Yankees of the Apocalypse.
Sir, if you've got any bunts in that bat, it's time to show them. And if you don't know how to bunt, Scranton will be a great place for you to learn.
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5 comments:
When he hits the ball, good things tend to happen. I like that he gets singles, doubles, even a recent triple. But he has to make contact more often. Bunting? Sure. Most of the team should learn to bunt. If only the Scooter was here to give lessons.
Here's where analytics and AI have ruined baseball...
Baseball analytics dislikes the sacrifice bunt because data shows that voluntarily trading an out to advance a runner reduces a team’s overall run expectancy. Outs are the most precious and limited resource in an inning, and giving one away lowers the mathematical probability of scoring multiple runs.
The Math Behind Run Expectancy
Runner on first, no outs: The average team will score about 0.94 runs for the rest of that inning.
Runner on second, one out: After a successful sacrifice bunt, the expected runs drop to roughly 0.66 runs.
The Trade-Off: While a bunt slightly increases the chance of scoring at least one run, it drastically decreases the chances of scoring a big inning with multiple runs (via home runs, walks, or extra-base hits).
Why Analytics Favors Swinging Away
Outs are currency: Making an out is the single most damaging thing a hitter can do to stall an offense. Keeping all three outs alive yields more long-term value.
Maximizing damage: Modern data emphasizes slugging and high on-base percentages over "small ball" because home runs and extra-base hits create exponential scoring value.
The "Nobody Wins" Play: As analyst Bill James famously noted, a sacrifice bunt is a play where the defense is happy because they got an out, and the offense is happy they got a base—meaning the offense usually gave up too much value to get
The anal ytics prove that over 125 years of baseball was wrong. Just like with batting average. And level swings. And strikeouts. None of that matters. Except they all do, regardless of the numbers.
And this is also what is wrong with AI. Reality is not something you can project via math.
"Reality is not something you can project via math." +++++++1
Or perhaps the long explanation is that they aren't anywheres close to knowing all the variables in the equation. One day, maybe they can calculate what it takes to blow out a fart and get a win in extras. They don't have the know how, yet. Not even close.
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