RESEARCH: Ball and strike rates for starting pitchers
Jul 20 2015
There is a statistic printed at the bottom of many box scores to which most readers pay very little attention: the number of balls and strikes thrown by pitchers during a game. It’s easier to focus on a pitcher’s total walks and strikeouts instead of the components that go into them.
But when you’re wondering if a pitcher’s control is legit, it’s important to dig deeper.
Our prior research on swinging strike rate and first-pitch strike rate confirmed that both are useful as predictive tools for a pitcher’s strikeout and walk rates. Those measures also can be found at the bottom of most box scores.
In addition, our detailed research on the stats and skills posted by starting pitchers in different ball-strike counts confirmed that the...
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