Whether you think the sky is falling for the Phillies offense or not, there were areas in which the hitters were better in 2010 than they were in 2009 relative to the rest of the league. Among them are the rates at which they got hits, walks and struck out.
Here are the number of plate appearances for the team in each of the last two years, plus how many times in each year the team got hits, walks and struck out along with the percentage of plate appearances for each:
| 2010 | % of PA | 2009 | % of PA | |
| PA | 6,291 | 6,338 | ||
| H | 1,451 | 23.1 | 1,439 | 22.7 |
| BB | 560 | 8.9 | 589 | 9.3 |
| SO | 1,064 | 16.9 | 1,155 | 18.2 |
In 2010, the Phillies had fewer plate appearances than they did in 2009 and got more hits. They got 47 more plate appearances in 2009, but struck out 91 more times. As a percentage of plate appearances, they struck out less in 2010.
The table above makes it look like they walked less. They did. But not as much less as the rest of the league.
In 2009, the average NL team walked in about 8.97% of their plate appearances. The Phillies walked in 9.29% of their plate appearances. In 2010, the average for NL teams was down to 8.52%, but the Phillies didn’t drop as much. They walked in 8.90% of their PA and their difference relative to the league average was slightly better in 2010 than it was in 2009.
So, in 2010, the league overall walked less than they did in 2009. The Phillies walked less, too, but not as much less as the average team.
Here’s how the rate at which the offense recorded hits, walks and strikeouts per game in 2009 and 2010 compared to the rest of the league:
| ’10 PHI | NL AVG ’10 | ’10 PHI/AVG | ’09 PHI | NL AVG ’09 | ’09 PHI/AVG | |
| Hits per Game | 8.96 | 8.65 | 1.036 | 8.88 | 8.77 | 1.013 |
| BB per Game | 3.46 | 3.25 | 1.065 | 3.64 | 3.44 | 1.056 |
| SO per Game | 6.57 | 7.36 | 0.892 | 7.13 | 7.06 | 1.010 |
So, after getting 1.013 times as many hits per game as the average NL team in 2009, the Phils got 1.036 times as many hits per game as the average NL team in 2010.
In 2009, the Phillies walked 1.056 times as often as the average NL team per game. In 2010, they walked 1.065 times as often as the average NL team per game.
And, finally, in 2009, the Phils struck out more times per game than the average NL team. In 2010, they struck out a lot less than the average NL team.
Pat Gillick says this Phillies team is better than the 2001 Mariners on paper. That team won 116 games, but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.
Here’s a list of Phillies scheduled to pitch in upcoming games.
This suggests that Cliff Lee suffered a mild strain on his left side earlier this month. In the article, Lee says it’s a non-issue and that he expects to start the season on time.
Andrew Carpenter cleared waivers and will be turned into a reliever.
February 22nd, 2011 on 12:15 pm
It will be interesting to see how losing jason werth makes the numbers move. (I assume they will move because of that.. ie, strike outs will go up, would they not?) Was he not one of the top guys in the league in number of pitches per at bat? It will REALLY be interesting to see how Ryan Howard’s desire to return to the very top of home runs hit moves those numbers also. Will he strike out more? Is that something the Phillies will be happy to see, assuming his home run totals rise also?
Given that the major players had what we deem to be off years, it is also interesting to see the hits rise and strike outs fall.
February 22nd, 2011 on 12:23 pm
BTW, MLB has been doing their “100 Best Players Today” thing. We have seven guys on the list. Conspicuous by his absence is Jimmy Rollins. I am hoping it pisses him off. A lot.
2. Roy Halliday
25. Ryan Howard
26. Chase Utley
31. Cliff Lee
51. Roy Oswalt
71. Cole Hamels
82. Shane Victorino
February 22nd, 2011 on 12:47 pm
I think it’s interesting, too. I don’t think it will be news to anyone, but it means that the quality of the hits got worse.
The Werth thing and the strikeouts is an interesting question. Werth draws a lot of walks, but he strikes out a lot, too. I think that Brown eventually will strike out a little less than Werth does. In 2011, though, he’s going to strike out more regularly. Maybe a lot more regularly. I think Francisco is a lock to strike out less than Werth, so it might wind up being a matter of how much time each of them gets in 2011 when we look if the loss of Werth means more or less strikeouts.
February 22nd, 2011 on 12:47 pm
Fascinating list, DM.
If I had to pick a 7th Phil to put on the list, I would have taken Chooch over Vic. But Vic over JRoll still makes sense.
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:42 pm
Jim, I agree. I am a little surprised that chooch did not break into the top 100.
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:45 pm
The quality of the hits became a real issue in 2010, didn’t it. Given the fact that Werth did not get a hit with men in scoring postiion for what seemed like three months, he was a MAJOR player in the drop off of hit quality.
February 22nd, 2011 on 7:56 pm
That’s pretty interesting. When I was talking about the quality of hits, I meant that the hits didn’t go for as many bases. The Phillies got more hits, but didn’t hit with the same power. It sounds like what you mean is that the Phillies didn’t hit well in situations, which was also true.
February 22nd, 2011 on 8:18 pm
Total bases. yes, I missed your point (my wife is used to this facet of my personality). But I do agree that both senses of “quality” are germaine. Apparently Werth’s doubles did not offset howard’s drop off in home runs. And while i do not have statistics to back up my sense that they did not hit well in situations, I do remember yelling at the TV screen more in 2010 than in the previous two years. And as I noted, Werth made me nuts last year when he had men in scoring position.
February 22nd, 2011 on 8:42 pm
No question that Werth was miserable at situational hitting. 186/353/314 with runners in scoring position, and that’s pretty bad. He had almost as many plate appearances with men on base (304) as he did with the bases empty (348), but hit twice as many homers with the bases empty.
February 23rd, 2011 on 8:25 pm
wow. I had no idea it was that bad. And they paid him HOW much to go to the Nats?