As a team in 2008 the Phillies got 6,273 plate appearances. Of those, 3,170, about 50.5%, came with the score of the game within one run. As a team they also got 780 of their plate appearances, 12.4%, when the margin of the game was more than four runs.
Not all of the players got the same percentage of their plate appearances when the game was close and when it wasn’t. These are the Phillies who got the highest percentage of their plate appearances with the game within one run — for each player it lists their plate appearances when the game was within a run, their total plate appearances for the year and the percentage of their plate appearances that came when the game was within a run:
Within one run |
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| Player | PA | TPA | % of PA |
| Utley | 389 | 707 | 55.0 |
| Rollins | 337 | 625 | 53.9 |
| Werth | 256 | 482 | 53.1 |
| Victorino | 328 | 627 | 52.3 |
| Bruntlett | 123 | 238 | 51.7 |
| Howard | 360 | 700 | 51.4 |
| Burrell | 330 | 645 | 51.2 |
| Team total | 3170 | 6273 | 50.5 |
| Jenkins | 155 | 322 | 48.1 |
| Feliz | 220 | 463 | 47.5 |
| Ruiz | 176 | 373 | 47.2 |
| Coste | 136 | 305 | 44.6 |
| Dobbs | 101 | 240 | 42.1 |
| Taguchi | 41 | 103 | 39.8 |
This list obviously reflects who is starting games, but Bruntlett is the guy who sticks out, getting more of his plate appearances than the team average with the game close. This is no doubt partly the result of all the time he got in left, relieving Burrell in close games. In the 123 plate appearances that Bruntlett got with the game within one run, he hit 207/273/297.
And here’s how many plate appearances hitters got when the margin of the game was more than four runs, with the players that got the highest percentage of their plate appearances in games that were not close at the top:
Margin > 4 runs |
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| Player | PA | TPA | % of PA |
| Taguchi | 23 | 103 | 22.3 |
| Dobbs | 40 | 240 | 16.7 |
| Coste | 48 | 305 | 15.7 |
| Bruntlett | 35 | 238 | 14.7 |
| Jenkins | 44 | 322 | 13.7 |
| Feliz | 59 | 463 | 12.7 |
| Victorino | 78 | 627 | 12.4 |
| Team total | 780 | 6273 | 12.4 |
| Howard | 85 | 700 | 12.1 |
| Ruiz | 44 | 373 | 11.8 |
| Burrell | 75 | 645 | 11.6 |
| Utley | 79 | 707 | 11.2 |
| Rollins | 69 | 625 | 11.0 |
| Werth | 47 | 482 | 9.8 |
Looking at both charts, Dobbs and Coste both get a higher percentage than average of their plate appearances in games that are not close and a lower percentage than average in games that are within a run. Coste’s splits from 2008 based on the score of the game were remarkable. When the margin of the game was more than four runs, he hit 432/479/886, going 19-for-44 with five doubles and five home runs. In his 257 other plate appearances, he hit 230/295/335. Over his career, he’s hit 410/442/672 in 129 plate appearances when the margin is more than four runs and 257/313/392 in his 526 other plate appearances.
I do think it’s unfortunate that a relatively high percentage of Dobbs’ plate appearances came with the score of the game lopsided. He was the opposite of Coste in ’08, pounding the ball to a 326/365/540 line in his 200 plate appearances when the game was within four runs and hitting just 179/175/256 in his 40 plate appearances when the margin was four runs or more.
Bruntlett seems to be present in both extremes, getting higher than average percentages of his plate appearances both in blowouts and games that are within a run, which suggests he’s getting lower than average percentages of his plate appearances in the situations in-between.
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