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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Beyond the Box Score: Pindelski: Second to None: The First Half of Ian Kinsler

And thirdly...the MVP of my dismal TASY team.

As far as hitting home runs are concerned, Kinsler is a dead pull hitter and this isn’t necessarily a product of the hitter friendly Ballpark in Arlington either: Nineteen of the 34 home runs Kinsler has hit over the past year and a half have been hit on the road.

Also notice that nothing has significantly changed on the detail of the home runs he has hit. The average true distance and standard distance of his home runs vary by only a couple of feet, while the average calculated speed off bat is identical.

To his credit, Kinsler has done much more to improve his overall power production. He already has 34 doubles (compared to 22 all of last year) and four triples (compared to two) on the year. His speed has always been a valuable asset and he’s utilized that speed on many occasions to take the extra base. Looking at the detail of his home runs however, very little has changed from 2007.

What has changed for Kinsler is his overall ability to hit whatever pitch is thrown his way.

Repoz Posted: July 15, 2008 at 08:32 AM | 9 comment(s)
Related News: General, Texas

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1. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: July 15, 2008 at 10:36 AM (#2856895)

the hitter friendly Ballpark in Arlington

Ken Harrelson made reference to this the other day, too, and so I looked it up. Multi-year PF: 100. This year it's actually playing pitcherly.

2. BurlyBuehrle Posted: July 15, 2008 at 11:34 AM (#2856967)

I have to say, just from watching the three games the Rangers played with the White Sox, the infield grass did look incredibly fast. Is there a way to measure the percentage of infield grounders turned into outs at this park versus infield grounders turned into outs at other parks? Obviously, the quality of fielder is a variable that would somehow have to be controlled for in order for any such analysis to be meaningful. To the naked eye, I must say that infield looked *fast.*

3. Excel Hearts Choi Posted: July 15, 2008 at 11:39 AM (#2856976)

This year it's actually playing pitcherly.

The hitter friendly aspect is come and go. When the park was originally built, there were no enclosed luxury suites (pretty dumb hunh?). So, Hicks had them enclosed and air conditioned when he took over. As a result, the wind would hit the glass, bounce into the field of play, and help to carry balls a little further. They also have a HR porch. I guess there have not been too many windy games so far.

4. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: July 15, 2008 at 11:53 AM (#2856998)

To the naked eye, I must say that infield looked *fast.*

I agree that Hawk wouldn't shut up about it. I just think he was strainin' to do some explainin'.

5. Randy Jones Posted: July 15, 2008 at 12:06 PM (#2857017)

Multi-year PF: 100. This year it's actually playing pitcherly.

Need to consider component park factors though. CBP for example has played pretty neutral overall, but it increases HR.

6. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: July 15, 2008 at 12:18 PM (#2857028)

Need to consider component park factors though. CBP for example has played pretty neutral overall, but it increases HR.

If, say, it increases HR, yet plays pitcherly anyway, then it's really depressing some other offensive stats.

And not to get all technical and precise, but the writer said "hitter friendly", not "homer friendly" or whatever. If the hitting components are worth breaking down, then so is the language.

7. Vance W Posted: July 15, 2008 at 01:23 PM (#2857119)

The Ballpark has traditionally helped Left-hand hitters and opposite field types more than Righty pull-hitters. The "jet stream" effect is more pronouced to Rightfield. Juan Gonzalez actually had some difficulty in adjusting to the Park.

I hope the infield is unusually fast. Maybe Michael Young has better range than it appears.

8. SkyKing162 Posted: July 16, 2008 at 02:59 PM (#2861572)

B-Ref lists the Texas multi-year park factor at 100. But if you go through ESPN's year by year park factors, you'll see this:

2008 117
2007 98
2006 108
2005 108
2004 122

Seems to me it's still a hitters' park. Am I missing something?

9. Randy Jones Posted: July 16, 2008 at 03:08 PM (#2861580)

If, say, it increases HR, yet plays pitcherly anyway, then it's really depressing some other offensive stats.

And not to get all technical and precise, but the writer said "hitter friendly", not "homer friendly" or whatever. If the hitting components are worth breaking down, then so is the language.

Yes, but the article was discussing it in terms of Kinsler hitting home runs, not hitting in general.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Beyond the Box Score: Pindelski: Second to None: The First Half of Ian Kinsler

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