Tom Tango notes that fielders are converting batted balls into outs at an unprecedented rate.
Since start of 2020 season, fielders have converted into outs 71.1% of the 7630 balls of hit into play
In 2019, there was NO STRETCH where fielders converted as many plays into outs. The average was 69.1%
TangoTiger.com
Tom makes some suggestions as to why, and the one that caught my eye was this:
I asked Tom if this included openers, and here’s his response:
So I looked at BABIP against starting pitchers by inning. (BABIP is basically 1-DER, and easier for me to calculate.) Here is 2020 compared to the previous 10 season by inning, when the starter is pitching.
Season | Inning | Plate App | At Bats | BIP Hits | BIP AB | Batting Avg | BABIP |
2020 | 1 | 1687 | 1506 | 268 | 1035 | 0.217 | 0.259 |
Previous 10 Years | 1 | 208571 | 186865 | 42929 | 141015 | 0.263 | 0.304 |
2020 | 2 | 1639 | 1463 | 255 | 1022 | 0.212 | 0.250 |
Previous 10 Years | 2 | 200169 | 181049 | 39326 | 133825 | 0.248 | 0.294 |
2020 | 3 | 1563 | 1403 | 281 | 1004 | 0.234 | 0.280 |
Previous 10 Years | 3 | 198069 | 177771 | 40206 | 134958 | 0.256 | 0.298 |
2020 | 4 | 1414 | 1248 | 243 | 895 | 0.248 | 0.272 |
Previous 10 Years | 4 | 190629 | 172146 | 39110 | 130659 | 0.262 | 0.299 |
2020 | 5 | 1046 | 944 | 198 | 694 | 0.244 | 0.285 |
Previous 10 Years | 5 | 172392 | 155442 | 35453 | 118900 | 0.260 | 0.298 |
2020 | 6 | 587 | 536 | 112 | 384 | 0.254 | 0.292 |
Previous 10 Years | 6 | 128835 | 116872 | 26851 | 89836 | 0.265 | 0.299 |
2020 | 7 | 151 | 142 | 30 | 107 | 0.254 | 0.280 |
Previous 10 Years | 7 | 62947 | 57551 | 13000 | 44301 | 0.257 | 0.293 |
As you can see, BABIP is lower in 2020 in every inning for starters, but the first two innings are off the charts. This might suggest that openers are making the difference. I also can believe that since starters know they are not going deep in games, they don’t need to hold back to have something left in the tank for the seventh inning.