Article: Joe Mauer pulled through in 2012

[Parker Hageman]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1173-Joe-Mauer-pulled-through-in-2012

[Willihammer]

>Not wanting to put another runner in scoring position, the Indians held Revere at the bag.

 

Yet another unsung value of speed and getting on base. Good stuff, Parker.

[glunn]

Another amazingly informative article from Parker. I love it when the pictures help bring home the analysis.

[Cody Christie]

Great stuff as usual from Parker

[PopRiveter]

Thanks, Parker. That was a fun read. Turns out, baseball is a little more than dingers and free agents.

[ashbury]

Parker's postings are always worth seeking out.

 

Twins were losing in two out of three of the screenshots. Sounds about right.

[Guest USAFChief]

The "hole" on the right side with a runner on is almost entirely due to where the first baseman is stationed, and has very little to do with where the 2nd baseman (and or SS) are positioned.

 

I'm also curious why, if what you say about Mauer's "unequaled bat control" is true, it took him until 2012 to figure that out.

[Parker Hageman]

The "hole" on the right side with a runner on is almost entirely due to where the first baseman is stationed, and has very little to do with where the 2nd baseman (and or SS) are positioned.

 

The "hole" is widened when a runner is on first because a first baseman is holding a runner on, that's true. However if you watch the games closely (or rather, review the footage as much as I do), you will see that the second baseman will position themselves differently to different hitters in different situations. If there is a force at second or, in the case of having Revere/Span on, faster runners on first that may require a quicker break to the bag on a DP ball, they will cheat towards second.

 

In the first two examples, you see the second basemen cheating towards the bag. In the last, without needing to worry about a runner, the second baseman is able to play deeper and therefore increases the coverage and reduces the hole to their left. Yes, the first baseman playing back helps shrink that further but it is not exclusively covered by him.

 

I'm also curious why, if what you say about Mauer's "unequaled bat control" is true, it took him until 2012 to figure that out.

 

I'm not suggesting I have an answer to why he pulled the ball more frequently but in 2012 he had more plate appearances with runners on first with less than two outs than the past four years**. I would believe that having that option more often would lead to him pulling the ball more intentionally in those situations.

 

**This is a byproduct of having guys like Span and Revere on-base ahead of him regularly. This raises another question that I was hoping would be discussed organically in the comments but I will ask it. If the Twins trade Span, what does that do to the top of the lineup? Who is hitting in the two-hole? If the top two spots have a lower OBP in 2013 than this season, will that effect Mauer's batting average/on-base percentage? Just some thing to mull over.

[Willihammer]

Parker, do you know Mauer's BABIP on ground balls when bases were empty, compared to BABIP on ground balls when there was a runner on 1b?