In mid-May, Yermin Mercedes swung on a 3-0, 47.1mph pitch from a Twins position player and the result of that swing was a home run. And, that swing became a topic of baseball conversation. Well, I guess we might still talk about swinging on 3-0 counts in the future, but let’s look at players’ performances on 3-0 counts.
Normally, we believe that a 3-0 count is favorable for hitters. However, MLB hitters used to be patient on 3-0 counts and they occasionally swung on such counts. However, in recent years, it seems that MLB batters tend to swing more on 3-0 counts. Before 2016, MLB batters swung less than 700 times each season on 3-0 counts. In 2016, MLB batters swung 740 times when the count was 3-0. From 2017 to 2019, MLB players swung more than 800 times on such counts each season. We saw a huge drop last year because it was a shortened season with each team playing 60 games.
By far this season, 7 players swung 5 times when the count was 3-0. Aaron Judge had a hit on 3-0 counts, which was a home run. Kyle Tucker has a hit on 3-0 counts as well and that hit was also a home run. Additionally, Isan Diaz collects a hit on 3-0 counts. However, Paul Goldschmidt might have to think again before swinging on 3-0 counts since he doesn’t have a hit yet. The 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman swung 5 times on 3-0 counts, and the results weren't as good as he expected since he's still hitless. Moreover, Nate Lowe and Kyle Schwarber don’t have a hit on 3-0 counts. In addition, more than 10 players swung 4 times on 3-0 counts.
Well, players don’t often swing on 3-0 counts. So, we don’t see many hits on such counts. So far this season, 7 players each have two hits on 3-0 counts. William Contreras has a home run and a single on 3-0 counts. Tim Anderson has two singles on 3-0 counts. Yermin Mercedes swung 3 times on 3-0 counts, one was a foul ball, and the other two were solo shots. He did crush baseballs on such counts. Moreover, Jose Ramirez, Ryan McMahon and Mitch Garver each blasted a home run and hit a single on 3-0 counts. In addition, George Springer hasn’t played much in his first season with the Blue Jays. But he can crush baseballs on 3-0 counts, he only swung twice on such counts and he got two homers.
Swinging on a 3-0 count is quite interesting. I remember that I went to watch a baseball game and a player swung when the count was 3-0, it turned out to be a double play to end the inning. I saw that he angrily threw his helmet. When I began to watch baseball games and play baseball, I often heard that coaches and managers asked players to “wait” on 3-0 counts, which means they don’t want a player to swing. However, a few players may get a green light when the count is 3-0. Swinging on a 3-0 count wasn’t very common, but now it seems that players are willing to swing more on such counts since it’s favorable for hitters. Are we going to see more home runs on 3-0 counts this season?
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