Contact Theory

[GDavis]

Ok guys, here's my theory on what a players contact rating means.  I believe that the better someone's contact rating is, that the bigger the portion of a players bat that is able to make contact with the ball is.  Therefore a player with a better contact rating can reach balls further outside or inside than someone with a lower rating.

So why do many of the players with good contact ratings suck?

I think its because a good hit is produced by hitting the ball off the center of the bat.  So a player with a bad contact rating still has the same chance of hitting a ball with the center of the bat as a good contact hitter.  Balls off the center of the bat are missed for strikes on bad contact hitters, and are weak groundouts or pop outs for good contact hitters.  So unless there are 2 strikes, its better to swing and miss then to hit a weak ball in play.

[vgp100]

GD, I like your theory. Can I subscribe to your newsletter?

[Gantry]

Good to see you guys providing some RBI Theories!  And it's soemthing I never quite thought of before...

My only problem with it is that when we play straight-pitch, we pretty much throw everything outside.  And the best hitters are all the power hitters, it has nothing to do with contact.  All these hit are near the end of the bat...

[GDavis]

Good point Gantry.  Here's a possible explaination that would be consistent with my theory:

Even players with the worst possible contact rating are still able to reach a pitch on the outside corner with the meat of their bat.  A player with a good contact rating should be able to hit balls that are off the plate outside (although not hit them very hard).  

This would make the contact rating pretty much insignificant in straight pitch games.