A comparison of 2012 and 2013 through the same number of days shows a great confirmation of the theory that strikeouts benefit both the pitcher and the hitter.
| Offensive Statistics through Six Weeks | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 560 | 552 |
| Runs/Game | 8.40 | 8.5 |
| Strikeouts per Game | 14.6 | 15.3 |
| Non-HR Hits per game | 15.1 | 15.0 |
| HR per game | 1.9 | 2.1 |
With all the one-hitters and shutouts this season, it seems the pitchers are ahead of the hitters. What really is happening, however, is that while pitchers are reducing the number of hits on balls in the playing area by increasing strikeouts, batters are making up for that drop with more home runs. I’ll mention that walks are down a bit, so overall the number of batters reaching base is the same as in 2012, 23.9 per game. Since that number includes more home runs, scoring is actually up.
What we’re seeing is more extreme games at the low end, as the best pitchers can dominate teams, but batters are probably swinging for the fences more to compensate for the tougher run environment, as so far the season actually belongs to the hitters.
I love posts about this. And right now I’m wondering if there’s much of a difference in a lefty/righty split or a day/night split.