September 06, 2003
Pulling the Ball
Steve Bonner wrote the other day:
Ok is there by any chance a stat that quantifies a hitters propensity to pull the ball?
There's not one stat per se, but STATS, Inc. does record where each batted ball lands. They break the field into 22 wedges of pie, labeled C to X, third base line to first base line. Using this data, I've come up with a pull percentage. For a left-handed batter, C = 0 and X =1, and each letter in between is the appropriate fraction. For righties, C = 1 and X = 0, and each letter in between is the appropriate fraction. For each player, I add up the value of each batted ball, multiply by 100 and divide by the number of balls into put into play. I call this pull percentage.
If every ball a batter hit were pulled down the line, pull percentage would be 100.0. If every ball were hit down the opposite line, then pull percentage would be 0. So the higher the pull percentage, the more likely the batter is to pull the ball. The pull percentage can be thought of as a direction; 50% means the average ball is hit up the middle.
Here's the table for everyone this year with at least 200 balls in play:
Hitter | Balls In Play | Pull Pct. |
Tony Batista | 426 | 66.63 |
Richard Hidalgo | 333 | 65.84 |
Reggie Sanders | 303 | 65.79 |
Fred McGriff | 202 | 64.45 |
Rafael Palmeiro | 401 | 64.29 |
Jose Cruz | 357 | 64.25 |
Brian Schneider | 233 | 63.87 |
Gary Sheffield | 443 | 63.78 |
Raul Mondesi | 364 | 63.36 |
Scott Spiezio | 373 | 63.30 |
Matt Lawton | 324 | 62.98 |
Steve Finley | 340 | 62.80 |
Mark Teixeira | 337 | 62.78 |
Moises Alou | 445 | 62.58 |
Garret Anderson | 476 | 62.49 |
Barry Bonds | 279 | 62.26 |
Carlos Pena | 278 | 62.13 |
Einar Diaz | 279 | 62.09 |
Jeromy Burnitz | 278 | 62.06 |
Corey Patterson | 243 | 61.81 |
Jeff Bagwell | 414 | 61.77 |
Jose Valentin | 328 | 61.66 |
Melvin Mora | 253 | 61.58 |
Mark McLemore | 212 | 61.52 |
Angel Berroa | 404 | 61.50 |
Mike Lowell | 402 | 61.50 |
Andruw Jones | 405 | 61.34 |
Tino Martinez | 361 | 61.21 |
Austin Kearns | 216 | 61.20 |
Albert Pujols | 450 | 61.07 |
Craig Biggio | 431 | 60.98 |
Keith Ginter | 212 | 60.76 |
Rich Aurilia | 348 | 60.76 |
Robin Ventura | 265 | 60.70 |
Alfonso Soriano | 461 | 60.70 |
Nomar Garciaparra | 519 | 60.52 |
Charles Johnson | 246 | 60.43 |
Bobby Higginson | 340 | 60.42 |
Javy Lopez | 318 | 60.38 |
Ramon Santiago | 325 | 60.31 |
Juan Gonzalez | 240 | 60.22 |
Craig Monroe | 276 | 60.20 |
Carlos Beltran | 365 | 60.10 |
Trot Nixon | 323 | 60.09 |
Eric Munson | 251 | 60.08 |
Paul Konerko | 338 | 60.07 |
Neifi Perez | 284 | 60.06 |
Wil Cordero | 305 | 60.03 |
Jody Gerut | 336 | 60.02 |
Alex S. Gonzalez | 368 | 60.02 |
Aaron Guiel | 222 | 60.00 |
Carlos Lee | 435 | 59.89 |
Alex Gonzalez | 357 | 59.77 |
Aaron Boone | 413 | 59.74 |
Robert Fick | 314 | 59.72 |
Matthew LeCroy | 206 | 59.55 |
Deivi Cruz | 431 | 59.46 |
Ty Wigginton | 397 | 59.45 |
Vinny Castilla | 403 | 59.42 |
Cristian Guzman | 413 | 59.37 |
Chris Stynes | 316 | 59.34 |
Magglio Ordonez | 445 | 59.26 |
Ruben Sierra | 218 | 59.22 |
Richie Sexson | 392 | 59.17 |
Kevin Millar | 375 | 59.11 |
Mike Lieberthal | 370 | 59.00 |
Geoff Blum | 322 | 58.96 |
Doug Mientkiewicz | 371 | 58.95 |
Luis Gonzalez | 447 | 58.93 |
Mark Ellis | 386 | 58.89 |
Juan Encarnacion | 451 | 58.86 |
Benito Santiago | 283 | 58.79 |
Jason Varitek | 299 | 58.77 |
Scott Hatteberg | 419 | 58.75 |
Morgan Ensberg | 263 | 58.70 |
Jim Thome | 342 | 58.66 |
Pat Burrell | 314 | 58.60 |
Eric Byrnes | 298 | 58.55 |
Jolbert Cabrera | 228 | 58.48 |
Michael Tucker | 303 | 58.45 |
Adam Dunn | 242 | 58.42 |
Vernon Wells | 496 | 58.42 |
Toby Hall | 350 | 58.26 |
Derrek Lee | 350 | 58.23 |
Shane Spencer | 259 | 58.14 |
David Ortiz | 301 | 58.06 |
Mike Sweeney | 271 | 58.02 |
Alex Rodriguez | 409 | 58.00 |
Julio Lugo | 331 | 57.98 |
Jeff Kent | 349 | 57.95 |
Miguel Olivo | 207 | 57.88 |
Brady Clark | 212 | 57.82 |
Luis Rivas | 365 | 57.81 |
Carlos Delgado | 371 | 57.80 |
Rondell White | 345 | 57.78 |
Desi Relaford | 376 | 57.76 |
John Vander Wal | 212 | 57.73 |
Damian Rolls | 226 | 57.71 |
Randall Simon | 309 | 57.70 |
Vladimir Guerrero | 271 | 57.67 |
Ramon Martinez | 228 | 57.67 |
Orlando Cabrera | 484 | 57.65 |
David Bell | 250 | 57.60 |
Troy Glaus | 238 | 57.58 |
Gary Matthews Jr. | 328 | 57.58 |
Ryan Klesko | 304 | 57.57 |
Adrian Beltre | 370 | 57.55 |
Hank Blalock | 384 | 57.50 |
Frank Thomas | 346 | 57.50 |
Jason Giambi | 341 | 57.48 |
Chipper Jones | 405 | 57.43 |
Sammy Sosa | 311 | 57.37 |
Marquis Grissom | 438 | 57.35 |
Cliff Floyd | 291 | 57.32 |
Preston Wilson | 405 | 57.26 |
Brandon Phillips | 250 | 57.26 |
Marlon Anderson | 350 | 57.24 |
Jason LaRue | 225 | 57.16 |
Tim Salmon | 378 | 56.98 |
Josh Phelps | 231 | 56.98 |
Junior Spivey | 222 | 56.86 |
Jorge Posada | 311 | 56.84 |
B.J. Surhoff | 239 | 56.82 |
Miguel Cairo | 215 | 56.79 |
Eddie Perez | 259 | 56.66 |
A.J. Pierzynski | 376 | 56.66 |
Chris Woodward | 262 | 56.49 |
Carl Everett | 374 | 56.46 |
Timo Perez | 263 | 56.42 |
D'Angelo Jimenez | 408 | 56.40 |
Sean Casey | 448 | 56.37 |
Ron Calloway | 226 | 56.32 |
Rocco Baldelli | 432 | 56.11 |
J.T. Snow | 238 | 56.06 |
Hideki Matsui | 471 | 56.01 |
Adam Everett | 262 | 55.98 |
Jay Gibbons | 450 | 55.96 |
Todd Walker | 464 | 55.94 |
Erubiel Durazo | 359 | 55.94 |
Chris Singleton | 242 | 55.92 |
Larry Walker | 319 | 55.84 |
Johnny Damon | 467 | 55.80 |
Damian Miller | 242 | 55.79 |
Geoff Jenkins | 366 | 55.78 |
Bobby Kielty | 276 | 55.76 |
Jeff Conine | 446 | 55.73 |
Scott Rolen | 396 | 55.68 |
Eric Chavez | 418 | 55.63 |
Dmitri Young | 366 | 55.62 |
Shannon Stewart | 444 | 55.58 |
Rafael Furcal | 506 | 55.56 |
Xavier Nady | 263 | 55.48 |
Brian Giles | 353 | 55.46 |
Eric Karros | 257 | 55.35 |
Greg Myers | 249 | 55.33 |
Eric Hinske | 283 | 55.33 |
Brad Wilkerson | 295 | 55.32 |
Jimmy Rollins | 441 | 55.25 |
Miguel Tejada | 493 | 55.25 |
Luis Matos | 303 | 55.24 |
Travis Lee | 376 | 55.22 |
Eric Young | 390 | 55.20 |
Craig Counsell | 225 | 55.20 |
Jim Edmonds | 298 | 55.19 |
Casey Blake | 391 | 55.16 |
Adam Kennedy | 323 | 55.11 |
Alex Sanchez | 416 | 55.09 |
Abraham O. Nunez | 208 | 55.08 |
Shane Halter | 225 | 55.01 |
Jacque Jones | 366 | 55.00 |
Wes Helms | 293 | 54.97 |
Aubrey Huff | 468 | 54.95 |
Manny Ramirez | 407 | 54.94 |
Mark Kotsay | 335 | 54.94 |
Jason Kendall | 455 | 54.65 |
Shawn Green | 417 | 54.57 |
Bengie Molina | 371 | 54.55 |
Ken Harvey | 339 | 54.54 |
Mike Bordick | 220 | 54.50 |
Jason Phillips | 306 | 54.50 |
Jeff Cirillo | 226 | 54.47 |
Edgar Renteria | 470 | 54.44 |
Brent Mayne | 266 | 54.42 |
Torii Hunter | 410 | 54.40 |
Randy Winn | 424 | 54.38 |
Terrence Long | 387 | 54.35 |
Omar Vizquel | 225 | 54.31 |
Jose Reyes | 238 | 54.28 |
Dave Roberts | 300 | 54.25 |
Ray Durham | 272 | 54.10 |
David Eckstein | 371 | 54.04 |
Joe Crede | 377 | 53.99 |
Dustan Mohr | 219 | 53.97 |
Ramon Hernandez | 353 | 53.93 |
Lance Berkman | 350 | 53.88 |
Carlos Guillen | 269 | 53.78 |
Alex Cora | 349 | 53.70 |
Milton Bradley | 300 | 53.70 |
Reed Johnson | 274 | 53.68 |
Raul Ibanez | 446 | 53.65 |
Ichiro Suzuki | 524 | 53.63 |
Bill Mueller | 387 | 53.62 |
Warren Morris | 234 | 53.60 |
Brook Fordyce | 255 | 53.56 |
Juan Uribe | 216 | 53.55 |
Bernie Williams | 313 | 53.51 |
Corey Koskie | 315 | 53.50 |
Aramis Ramirez | 438 | 53.42 |
Jack Wilson | 411 | 53.42 |
Mike Cameron | 329 | 53.42 |
Kenny Lofton | 444 | 53.42 |
Alex Cintron | 333 | 53.41 |
Frank Catalanotto | 382 | 53.39 |
Brandon Inge | 201 | 53.30 |
Orlando Hudson | 330 | 53.28 |
Josh Bard | 223 | 53.24 |
Roberto Alomar | 399 | 53.23 |
Ivan Rodriguez | 359 | 53.22 |
Bret Boone | 428 | 53.16 |
Brian Roberts | 339 | 53.13 |
Shea Hillenbrand | 374 | 53.06 |
Todd Helton | 452 | 52.93 |
Jay Payton | 433 | 52.63 |
Juan Pierre | 551 | 52.63 |
Bo Hart | 209 | 52.59 |
Derek Jeter | 330 | 52.42 |
Mark Loretta | 449 | 52.31 |
Ben Broussard | 259 | 52.12 |
Coco Crisp | 293 | 52.09 |
Barry Larkin | 205 | 51.96 |
Mark Grudzielanek | 352 | 51.95 |
Ramon Vazquez | 303 | 51.93 |
Michael Young | 485 | 51.87 |
Ronnie Belliard | 336 | 51.81 |
Jose Guillen | 357 | 51.77 |
Paul Lo Duca | 446 | 51.68 |
Placido Polanco | 427 | 51.58 |
Jose Vidro | 414 | 51.48 |
Marlon Byrd | 319 | 51.47 |
Marcus Giles | 421 | 51.37 |
Royce Clayton | 358 | 51.37 |
Dan Wilson | 221 | 51.37 |
Gary Bennett | 219 | 51.36 |
Carl Crawford | 437 | 51.08 |
John Olerud | 401 | 50.97 |
Luis Castillo | 478 | 50.97 |
Sean Burroughs | 369 | 50.90 |
Edgar Martinez | 344 | 50.84 |
Edgardo Alfonzo | 415 | 50.83 |
Joe Randa | 374 | 50.71 |
Endy Chavez | 385 | 50.48 |
Jose Hernandez | 319 | 50.17 |
Jeff DaVanon | 223 | 50.16 |
Brad Ausmus | 330 | 50.14 |
Roger Cedeno | 330 | 50.13 |
Bobby Abreu | 395 | 49.99 |
Mike Matheny | 325 | 49.77 |
Orlando Palmeiro | 262 | 48.73 |
Scott Podsednik | 384 | 48.52 |
Darin Erstad | 216 | 48.52 |
Cesar Izturis | 406 | 48.40 |
Tony Womack | 275 | 47.71 |
Juan Castro | 233 | 46.35 |
Rey Sanchez | 262 | 45.95 |
As you can see, almost everyone pulls the ball somewhat. And even the most extreme pull hitters have an average hit that straight away to the pull field.
Posted by David Pinto at
02:23 PM
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