Jack Moore of fangraphs.com takes a look here at why Johan Santana continues to be successful on the mound.
With the amount of HRs and line drives Santana gives up limited, and the amount of essentially automatic outs he induces via the infield fly, Santana’s low amount of ground balls has no impact on his incredible peripherals, making him still one of the best pitchers in the game today.
Here’s a list of 2009 infield fly ball leaders, HR/9 leaders, line drive % leaders, and ground ball % leaders (You’ll have to sort the stats yourself by clicking on the stat name).
Any names pop out at you?
6 comments
stickguy
10/16/2009-12:22pm at 12:22 pm (UTC -4)
lots of braves. Not many mets.
Not sure what you are looking for, but is it that Marquis had a freaksihly good LD/GB% (and well aboce career norm)? Also a BABIP that points toward some “luck”
He probably also benefited from playing in front of a good defensive team.
CaseStreet
10/16/2009-12:29pm at 12:29 pm (UTC -4)
Pineiro, too.
darknova306
10/16/2009-12:52pm at 12:52 pm (UTC -4)
Pineiro’s also got a magician of a pitching coach.
CaseStreet
10/16/2009-1:10pm at 1:10 pm (UTC -4)
too bad the Mets don’t need a pitching coach
GravediggerHebner
10/16/2009-12:58pm at 12:58 pm (UTC -4)
Totally unrelated (I sense a banning), we here at TRDMB have been having a healthy good natured debate about our feelings on a potential (inevitable?) Yankees-Phillies World Series.
Well Evan Roberts of WFAN just put his feelings about it in a very humorous way that I have to share.
When asked who he would root for, his response was “that’s like telling me that I’m the last man on earth and the only two women left to start a future society with are Roseanne Barr and Rosie O’Donnell. I’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, and if we come to it I’ll probably be jumping off that bridge.”
CaseStreet
10/16/2009-1:09pm at 1:09 pm (UTC -4)
IDK, if Rosie put on her “A League of Their Own” uniform, …