Something is a tad askew........

[Valuist]

Jose Bautista's plate appearance and HR numbers, going back to 2006:

2006: 446 plate appearances 16 home runs
2007: 600 plate appearances 15 home runs
2008: 410 plate appearances 15 home runs
2009: 392 plate appearances 13 home runs

2010: 656 plate appearances 54 home runs

This is a bigger outlier than Brady Anderson's big HR year.

[BillW]

He finally realized that the pirates got rid of him? :D

[Dave Schwartz]

Do you suppose the boy has bulked up a bit?

[BillW]

I heard a discussion on this a few weeks ago (on a Pittsburgh station). Of course they were laughing at the fact that there was another Pirate dump doing well. they seemed to feel that there was no discernible difference from his days with the bucs.

[OTM Al]

Looks like he either wasn't a regular in past years or he was hurt a lot. That will make at least part of the difference.

[Valuist]

Looks like he either wasn't a regular in past years or he was hurt a lot. That will make at least part of the difference.

Maybe a bit. His averages were right around 460 plate appearances and 15 home runs. Project 1 HR every 30.67 PAs and for 656 plate appearances you get 21. I do believe that KNOWING one is a starter may help a bit. Maybe could've even hit the high 20s. But 54?? And there's no sign of him slowing down. He seems to be hitting more as the season goes on. Reminds me of McGwire in 1998. On the new Ken Burns baseball documentary, they said McGwire hit 5 home runs in his final 11 swings. Not at bats, but swings. Looks really suspicious.

[JustRalph]

There is a damn good chemist somewhere

[ldiatone]

true true :bang: :lol:

[ldiatone]

well the pirates not only traded this kid, but also "fired" a AA mananger who won titles over the past few years. why? welcome to the pirates organIzation
ldiatone
ps wait till next year!!! :jump: :jump:

[Valuist]

well the pirates not only traded this kid, but also "fired" a AA mananger who won titles over the past few years. why? welcome to the pirates organIzation
ldiatone
ps wait till next year!!! :jump: :jump:

Hard to believe that at one point the Pirates and Orioles were two of the top franchises in MLB.

[cj]

Hard to believe that at one point the Pirates and Orioles were two of the top franchises in MLB.

The Orioles are at least showing a little promise finally. They have been inept, but not because they are cheap. I have no idea why a Pirate fan would ever buy a ticket.

[JustRalph]

I have no idea why a Pirate fan would ever buy a ticket.

For a while they were giving them away with a pizza from Pizza Hut. I heard the promo on Xm a couple of years back. Buy a Large or X-Large and get two tickets.............Amazing....... :bang:

[ldiatone]

The Orioles are at least showing a little promise finally. They have been inept, but not because they are cheap. I have no idea why a Pirate fan would ever buy a ticket.
well to watch the pirates... yes. but to view the other teams and enjoy PNC park yes also. if one hasn't been there it is one beautiful park w/ many cool things to see and food outlets. not just one's avg hotdog and coke. i had a partial season ticket plan in 01 and to watch a ball game is really cool.
ldiatone
ps plus one can buy a seat where the price includes all the food one can eat :jump: :jump: burgers, nachos, hotdogs, ice cream, etc.

[parlay]

this on Torontos' Fan 590 a few weeks ago. The broadcasters swore the guy has not changed in physical appearance. All to do with the hitting coach and a tightening up of the swing. Just sayin.....

[Valuist]

Now more than 1/3 of the way thru the 2011 season, he hasn't let up. Is it possible many of us who were convinced he was/has been juicing are wrong? I saw an interesting article on him and maybe, just maybe, it is legit.

The scouts who saw him as a young player marveled at his bat speed. He hasn't gotten bigger in the past few years. And the turnaround actually started in September of 2009. With the "steroid guys" its always about a change between seasons. At first glimpse that appeared to be the case here but he hit 10 HRs in his final 100 at bats in 2009. Is it possible he finally woke up and figured things out? Of course there's a chance he's corking his bat, as well. A turnaround of these proportions has to look suspicious. If it is legit, it has to be the biggest sports turnaround since Cigar's connections decided to give him a shot on dirt.

[Bettowin]

Maybe he got corrective eye surgery. I have no idea but have heard of a few instances where MLB players improve their vision and go on a tear.

[Dave Schwartz]

A corked bat does not triple your homerun output. It makes the ball go maybe 10% farther.


Here's a report that says 2%.
http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/13/ask-mike-does-a-corked-bat-do-anything/

Here's one that says zero change.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25762/

[andicap]

Ask George Brett. Maybe it's the pine tar. ;)

I actually heard an interview with a former coach of his who says Bautista has always been a great prospect but hadn't put it all together. Then in late 2009 he suddenly "got it," and has been on fire ever since.

There is plenty of precedent for players who needed a few years to figure out the game. Sandy Koufax was a mediocre pitcher with a great fast ball for several years.

The Mets gave up on Amos Otis in the early 70s in one of the most infamous trades in their history, giving him away for I believe, a washed-up Jim Fregosi. (or possibly Joe Foy?). Otis became a helluva hitter and outfielder.

[Valuist]

Ask George Brett. Maybe it's the pine tar. ;)

I actually heard an interview with a former coach of his who says Bautista has always been a great prospect but hadn't put it all together. Then in late 2009 he suddenly "got it," and has been on fire ever since.

There is plenty of precedent for players who needed a few years to figure out the game. Sandy Koufax was a mediocre pitcher with a great fast ball for several years.

The Mets gave up on Amos Otis in the early 70s in one of the most infamous trades in their history, giving him away for I believe, a washed-up Jim Fregosi. (or possibly Joe Foy?). Otis became a helluva hitter and outfielder.

I had heard the same thing. Great bat speed. For whatever reason, something was always missing. But with Bautista, it started around September 7th of 2009 and hasn't stopped since.

[Valuist]

this on Torontos' Fan 590 a few weeks ago. The broadcasters swore the guy has not changed in physical appearance. All to do with the hitting coach and a tightening up of the swing. Just sayin.....

I was watching him last night and I agree; he doesn't look like a juicer. He does probably swing harder than anyone in the game.

I have another theory: he is not a "quiet" hitter, meaning he has quite a bit of movement during an at bat. He's way out on his front foot and he takes a big swing and generates a tremendous amount of torque. But it probably took years to really get that timing down with all that movement to be able to hit consistently. Looking at his 2nd HR last night, I don't think it was ever more than 15 feet off the ground. Some of these that are HRs now probably would've been doubles in the gap in the past. In any event, if I was pitching, I would NEVER throw him a fastball.

[Robert Fischer]

A corked bat does not triple your homerun output. It makes the ball go maybe 10% farther.


Here's a report that says 2%.
http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/13/ask-mike-does-a-corked-bat-do-anything/

Here's one that says zero change.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25762/

A corked bat mainly allows you to use a bigger diameter barrel on the head of the bat for roughly the same weight as a smaller barrel. It's more of a contact thing, even though it is popularly thought of as a power thing.

Legally you could have a bat that is 2.75 inches in diameter and 42 inches long.
Nobody can swing such a club, so you may see a bat that is 34 inches long and 2.5 inches in diameter.

[Stillriledup]

I was watching him last night and I agree; he doesn't look like a juicer. He does probably swing harder than anyone in the game.

I have another theory: he is not a "quiet" hitter, meaning he has quite a bit of movement during an at bat. He's way out on his front foot and he takes a big swing and generates a tremendous amount of torque. But it probably took years to really get that timing down with all that movement to be able to hit consistently. Looking at his 2nd HR last night, I don't think it was ever more than 15 feet off the ground. Some of these that are HRs now probably would've been doubles in the gap in the past. In any event, if I was pitching, I would NEVER throw him a fastball.

He has seemed to 'teach' Encarnacion how to swing the bat the same exact way, so, maybe its not juice and its something in the swing, these guys swing awfully hard.