Cleveland Indians: Kings of putting the ball in play

Putting the ball in play is every batter’s main goal when they’re up at the plate, and it has led to a recent offensive onslaught by the Cleveland Indians.

The Cleveland Indians have been on fire for over a week and one has to wonder where all these runs are coming from. Yes, they’re hitting home runs and hitting with runners in scoring position, but there is another factor hiding in the background.

Ask any fan if the Indians strike out too much, and inevitably they will say “YES!” There is always the thought that our favorite team’s strike out the most, so it will probably surprise many fans to learn the Indians have the third lowest strikeout rate in the MLB.

Based on Strikeouts per Plate Appearance, the Indians (.187) trail only the Astros and the Red Sox. This tendency is great on its own but add in the fact that the Indians also hold the fifth highest Walk per Plate Appearance rate (.0958) and it makes for a great offense.

Putting these two trends together, these numbers show that the Indians do not offer at bad pitches. They either lay off the pitch for a walk or they put it in play. All of these plate appearances lead to more baserunners and more chances to score.

Combining walks and strikeouts together, the Indians have the perfect mix in their arsenal to defeat any team. They hold the highest BB/K in the MLB at .51 and it has continued to give the Indians scoring opportunities.

In a league that averages 6.7 men left on base per game, the Indians need every chance they can get. They actually are slightly above this average (6.94) and can use every batter to try to score runs.

Leaving almost seven guys on base per game probably means a team is wasting scoring opportunities, but the Indians are 10th in runs per game at 4.83. This number has to be helped by the many extra times the Indians put the ball in play and see what happens.

Baseball is random, so every ball hit has a chance to be a hit, error or a run. One has to look no further than Jason Giambi’s second walk-off against the White Sox in 2013 to see this reality. Michael Brantley singled when the ball hit the lip of the grass, and he eventually scored on Giambi’s magical hit.

This phenomenon is not meant to discount the way the Indians hit. They aren’t just grounding into outs and hitting lazy fly balls. The Indians also lead the MLB in doubles per plate appearance with .0531. This stat means they are hitting 2.03 doubles every game.

With Jose Ramirez hitting a double every other at-bat, and the rest of the squad following suit, the Indians are hitting solid gap-shots the entire game.

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This 2017 team is considerably slower than the version from 2016, but by not swinging and missing balls out of the zone, the Indians have grown tremendously this season. The 2016 team was not terrible, but their BB/K was .43. That difference between 2016 and 2017 may seem small (+.08), but that is a lot more balls in play during the season, and that means a lot more can happen.  

With strikeout king Mike Napoli gone, the Indians are much more disciplined at the plate and that shows in almost every individual hitter. With Carlos Santana having a down year, his .91 BB/K shows how he contributes outside of batting average.

Daniel Robertson, Francisco Lindor, Austin Jackson, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Brantley, and Lonnie Chisenhall all also have a BB/K that is above .5.

Even scarier for opposing pitcher is when you take away Yan Gomes and Jason Kipnis, the BB/K for the entire team goes up to .549. This team does not go down easily and with three swings.

The Indians have been hitting great lately, but they have been swinging well all season and it is starting to show. If this BB/K stays where it is at, the Indians have no match in the playoffs.

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Throw in the fact that the Tribe pitchers have the third highest K/BB (3.39) on their side of the game and this team has nowhere to go but up.