The hitting revolution may be under way. The Kansas City Royals are in the World Series, and the San Francisco Giants are one win away from joining them, in part because they successfully have countered the record-setting strikeout environment of today's game.
The Royals, the toughest team to strike out in baseball, whiffed 28 times in their four-game sweep of Baltimore in the American League Championship Series. Their rate of 7.0 strikeouts per game in the ALCS sits below the MLB average of 7.70 per game — a rate that has gone up nine consecutive years.
San Francisco is winning postseason games by taking advantage of balls in play of any kind. They have scored more runs in their past six games on plays without a hit (12) than with one (10) – and without hitting a home run. In Game 4, they set an NL playoff record with a sixth straight game without a homer in one postseason. Only the 1973 Athletics, who went eight straight games without a homer, had a longer streak.
"We joke we have a Bloop Attack, a Walk Attack, any kind of attack," said San Francisco hitting coach Hensley Meulens. "And we have the RTI — runs thrown in."
The Giants operate under a very smart hitting philosophy for today's game, one that is inspired by playing their home games in a pitcher's park. Meulens preaches a flat swing that keeps the barrel in the zone longer than the modern power swing, which has a slight lift to it. San Francisco sacrifices the opportunity for the occasional home run in favor of the frequent ball in play.
As strikeouts and shifts continue to gain traction, the hitter who can make contact and use the full width of the field becomes more valuable. Look for teams in spring training next year to put more emphasis on this approach; the Pirates did just that in their camp this year. The philosophy is bound to become more popular because of the success of the Royals and Giants.
http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/10/16/three- ... inals-nlcs
I know the Brewers play in a hitter's/HR park, and Melvin talked about getting players that fit the park, but the Giants-Royals hitting philosophy makes a lot of sense, especially today vs the 1995-2010 era.
Good defense, consistent-contact hitting is like the opposite of the Brewers' development approach. Funny/interesting/infuriating that arguably the two best fielders the Brewers' system has produced in the last 10 years were Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, and we gave up BOTH guys in the KC trade.
