August 06, 2008
Protection Racket
Lyflines looks at the history of David Ortiz batting with and without Manny in the lineup and finds a result the opposite of the common wisdom.
Posted by David Pinto at
10:22 AM
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Like a lot of so called baseball axioms that are supposed to be true, the facts here(#s)do show that Ortiz does not need Manny to be a great hitter.Ortiz's hand is a bigger factor than manny hitting behind him.
Every statistical study shows the same thing: no evidence that "protection" has any effect on a batter's performance. By far the #1 factor in a pitcher's mind is to get the current batter out.
It might be different if Julio Lugo replaced Manny in the cleanup spot. But the Red Sox have a lot of good hitters, and Ortiz gets a decent amount of "protection" from whoever hits behind him -- Lowell, Youkilis, Drew, Bay.
