I wrote the post below on Sunday evening but never got a chance to publish it. Apparently someone at Surviving Grady Enterprises leaked the story to Adrian Gonzalez’s people, setting the wheels in motion to reprogram him from “Awesome Hitter” to “Awesome Hitter With Power.”
There is always a lot of talk about the effect of participating in the Home Run Derby on a player’s “normal” swing. Red Sox fans are painfully aware that, whatever the reason, Adrian Gonzalez has simply ceased hitting the ball out of the park. Pre-All-Star break, he was hitting a home run every 21.2 at-bats. Since then, he’s hitting one…just one..in 143 at-bats and counting.
Did the Home Run Derby mess up his stroke, or is it just a coincidence? Surviving Grady’s highly-paid stable of statisticians went through the numbers, and here’s what they look like:
- Prince Fielder : First Half, a home run every 14.5 at-bats, second half every 21.5 at-bats.
- Matt Holiday: First Half, a home run every 17.2 at-bats, second half every 28 at-bats.
- Rickie Weeks: First Half, a home run every 21.7 at-bats, second half every 23 at-bats.
- Matt Kemp: First Half, a home run every 18 at-bats, second half every 15.4 at-bats.
- David Ortiz: First Half, a home run every 16 at-bats, second half every 20.2 at-bats.
- Jose Bautista: First Half, a home run every 9.6 at-bats, second half every 19.4 at-bats.
- Robinson Cano: First Half, a home run every 22.5 at-bats, second half every 24.8 at-bats.
With the exception of Matt Kemp, everyone’s numbers are down, some significantly. And let’s be realistic, Kemp only hit two home runs in the event and really didn’t have a chance to wrinkle his uniform let alone mess up his swing.
What does it all mean? F%&ked if I know, but A-Gon needs to start hitting some home runs with half the team injured.
