In June, the White Sox manager Tony La Russa decided to intentionally walk the Dodgers’ Trea Turner with a 1-2 count in the sixth inning. Well, the result wasn’t a great one because the next batter Max Muncy crushed a 3-run home run and the Dodgers won the game. There are a lot of discussions on La Russa’s decision. But, La Russa’s decision made me think about one thing.
By far this season, which batters have been hitting well on a 1-2 count?
Luis Arraez is now leading the AL with a .326 batting average. He’s certainly one of the best hitters in the MLB. Arraez has 114 hits thus far and 17 hits were hit on a 1-2 count. Hence, while pitching to Arraez, a pitcher must be careful even with a 1-2 count, which is usually favorable to a pitcher.
Over the last three years, Tim Anderson finished each season with a batting average of .300 or higher. He’s one of the most consistent hitters in the majors and by far this season, he’s hitting .309/.347/.404 with 6 home runs and 25 RBI. On a 1-2 count, his batting average is over .300.
Steven Kwan made his MLB debut on the 2022 Opening Day. He’s been playing well in his rookie season. Kwan currently hits .297/.369/.381 with 2 home runs and 28 RBI. He’s not a home run hitter, however, it’s not easy to strike him out. Kwan has been struck out only 35 times so far and he already drew 36 walks. On a 1-2 count, his batting average is over .300 as well.
Meanwhile, on a 1-2 count, Isiah Kiner-Falefa has 16 hits and Andrew Vaughn has 17 hits. Moreover, Connor Joe now bats .247/.350/.364 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI, but he has a batting average of .288 with a 1-2 count.
Some players are able to collect a hit when facing 1-2 counts, however, it might not be that easy to hit on 1-2 counts. As we can see, several players each have a batting average below .100 when facing 1-2 counts. For example, Kyle Schwarber already crushed 33 home runs and on 1-2 counts, he only blasted 1 home run. On a 1-2 count, Schwarber’s batting average is below .100.
So, how about Trea Turner? What’s his performance on a 1-2 count? Well, by far, his batting average is .208 when facing 1-2 counts and he crushed 1 home run.
Normally, a 1-2 count is considered favorable to pitchers and it’s not that easy to see a batter collect a hit when facing 1-2 counts. So far this season, we only see 3 players with a batting average of .300 or higher on a 1-2 count and in the majors, there are a lot of players who have a batting average below .100 on 1-2 counts. Tony La Russa already provided his explanation on his decision to intentionally walk Trea Turner on a 1-2 count. But, it will be interesting to see whether he will make the same decision again, in particular, against the same batter. Furthermore, will he do the same in the postseason?
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