The Atlanta Braves batters exhibit three extreme splits in three categories. The hit much better at home, with an OPS of .895 at home versus .683 on the road. The hit right-handed pitchers better than lefties, with an OPS of .767 against right-handers, .631 against lefties. Finally they don’t get men on base often, but hit well when they do. Their OPS of .685 with the bases empty goes up to .780 with men on base. So it appears the best way to beat the Braves is to throw a lefty when the Braves are away from Atlanta who keeps the bases clear. Actually, that sounds like a way to win a lot of games. 🙂
For some reason this reminds me of a story in Ball Four, when a pitcher (I don’t remember which, but not Bouton) receives a visit to the mound and asks the pitching coach if there’s any particular way he wants him to pitch the batter coming up next. The pitching coach says, “Nah, fuck it, give him good stuff.” You can do all the statistical analysis all you want but throw out a lefty at home who doesn’t allow many baserunners and you’re in good shape. It’s a funny, beautiful game.