Twins Pitchers: Out of Control?
One of the chapters in my book, the Ducksnorts 2007 Baseball Annual, examines strategies teams like the A’s and Twins have employed to remain successful over the past several years. The A’s are fairly well chronicled in Michael Lewis’ Moneyball, but what about the Twins?
One thing I discovered about the Twins is that their pitching staff tends to force the opposition to put the ball in play. They’ve surrendered the fewest walks in the American League in each of the past three seasons, and they’ve finished no worse than third in that category since 2001.
This year, however, the Twins find themselves in the middle of the pack. Through May 18, six teams have allowed fewer walks than the Twins.
| Year | BB/9 | Rnk | AL Avg | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of ESPN, through May 18, 2007. | ||||
| 2001 | 2.78 | 2 | 3.23 | .525 |
| 2002 | 2.73 | 3 | 3.26 | .584 |
| 2003 | 2.48 | 2 | 3.17 | .556 |
| 2004 | 2.63 | 1 | 3.34 | .568 |
| 2005 | 2.14 | 1 | 3.02 | .512 |
| 2006 | 2.23 | 1 | 3.19 | .593 |
| 2007 | 3.31 | 7 | 3.42 | .463 |
We’re only a quarter of the way through the season, and it’s not like this is the only reason Minnesota is struggling. That said, the Twins appear to be straying pretty far from something that has helped give them an advantage over the past several years.
I wonder how much of this is due to the retirement of strike thrower extraordinaire Brad Radke. More importantly, I wonder if the Twins can get their mojo back before it’s too late. In the AL Central, there is precious little margin for error. Now would be a real good time to stop walking batters and start winning games.
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POSTED IN: Stats and Analysis
2 opinions for Twins Pitchers: Out of Control?
Rain Delay
May 20, 2007 at 11:29 am
Though I would take into account they were trotting Sydney Ponson out there every 5th day for a while. And then there’s Boof Bonser not sure what his BB/9 is..but that might be part of the problem.
Santana can only do so much, and he’s been getting knocked around lately as well.
Geoff Young
May 21, 2007 at 11:28 am
Ponson, Bonser, Glen Perkins, Dennys Reyes, and Juan Rincon all have had trouble throwing strikes. Not a good situation at all…
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