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November 01, 2007
Ranger Pitcher Rate Lines and Hitter Counterparts
Here’s a fun little game: turning every pitcher’s performance into a comparable batter. Below are the opposing batting lines for Ranger pitcher who faced at least 100 batters. The three hitters who most closely match that line are listed to the right. If none of the three qualified for the batting title, I listed a fourth who did.
Just in case you're curious, I determined comparability by ranking the sums of the squares of the differences in average, on-base percentage, slugging, homer rate, walk rate, and strikeout rate between each Ranger pitcher and every hitter in baseball with at least 200 appearances. Now that I’ve put you to sleep with the previous sentence, the list:
| Pitcher | Opposing AVG / OBP / SLG -- OPS |
Opposing AVG+ / OBP+ / SLG+ -- OPS+ |
HR% -- BB% -- SO% |
Most Comparable Batters ('07 Stats Only) |
| A. Otsuka | .218 / .269 / .277 -- .546 |
80 / 79 / 65 -- 44 |
0.0% -- 7.0% -- 18.0% |
Nick Punto, Erick Aybar, Adam Kennedy |
| E. Gagne | .192 / .271 / .275 -- .546 |
71 / 80 / 65 -- 45 |
1.5% -- 9.1% -- 22.0% |
Adam Kennedy, Mark Kotsay, Nick Punto |
| C. Wilson | .208 / .314 / .288 -- .602 |
77 / 93 / 68 -- 61 |
1.5% -- 12.1% -- 23.1% |
Robert Fick, Nick Punto, Abraham Nunez |
| J. Benoit | .225 / .293 / .348 -- .641 |
83 / 86 / 82 -- 68 |
1.8% -- 8.5% -- 26.4% |
Gerald Laird, Carlos Quentin, Royce Clayton, (Brandon Inge) |
| W. Littleton | .262 / .327 / .410 -- .737 |
97 / 96 / 97 -- 93 |
3.0% -- 8.0% -- 12.1% |
Scott Rolen, Mike Sweeney, Carlos Ruiz, (Melky Cabrera) |
| J. Wright | .259 / .361 / .381 -- .742 |
96 / 106 / 90 -- 96 |
1.9% -- 12.9% -- 12.2% |
David DeJesus, Johnny Damon, Esteban German |
| E. Volquez | .262 / .342 / .408 -- .750 |
97 / 101 / 96 -- 97 |
2.8% -- 10.3% -- 20.0% |
Jim Edmonds, Jose Bautista, Tad Iguchi |
| F. Francisco | .258 / .370 / .385 -- .755 |
95 / 109 / 91 -- 100 |
1.2% -- 14.7% -- 18.9% |
Scott Speizio, Willie Harris, Esteban German (Tad Iguchi) |
| B. McCarthy | .278 / .355 / .428 -- .783 |
103 / 105 / 101 -- 106 |
2.0% -- 10.7% -- 13.2% |
Luis Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Brian Giles |
| K. Gabbard | .265 / .371 / .424 -- .795 |
98 / 109 / 100 -- 109 |
2.9% -- 13.2% -- 14.9% |
JD Drew, Kevin Millar, Cliff Floyd |
| K. Millwood | .301 / .366 / .446 -- .812 |
111 / 108 / 105 -- 113 |
2.5% -- 8.6% -- 15.9% |
Edward Encarnacion, Billy Butler, Randy Winn |
| K. Loe | .295 / .362 / .448 -- .810 |
109 / 107 / 106 -- 113 |
2.1% -- 9.3% -- 12.9% |
Mike Lamb, Andre Ethier, Randy Winn |
| V. Padilla | .299 / .373 / .438 -- .811 |
110 / 110 / 103 -- 113 |
3.0% -- 9.3% -- 13.2% |
Mike Lamb, Orlando Hudson, Randy Winn |
| W. Eyre | .291 / .368 / .451 -- .819 |
107 / 109 / 106 -- 115 |
2.7% -- 10.7% -- 14.0% |
Mike Lamb, Orlando Hudson, Andre Ethier |
| A. Murray | .238 / .328 / .505 -- .833 |
88 / 97 / 119 -- 116 |
5.0% -- 12.5% -- 15.0% |
Paul Konerko, Justin Morneau, Jermaine Dye |
| S. Feldman | .284 / .411 / .419 -- .830 |
105 / 121 / 99 -- 120 |
1.6% -- 17.1% -- 10.2% |
Joe Mauer, Brian Roberts, Brian Giles |
| J. Rheinecker | .295 / .382 / .473 -- .855 |
109 / 113 / 112 -- 125 |
3.8% -- 11.9% -- 17.0% |
Russ Martin, Manny Ramirez, Travis Buck |
| R. Tejeda | .290 / .390 / .499 -- .889 |
107 / 115 / 118 -- 133 |
3.9% -- 13.7% -- 15.7% |
Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey, Frank Thomas |
| M. Wood | .321 / .373 / .533 -- .906 |
118 / 110 / 126 -- 136 |
4.0% -- 6.6% -- 11.0% |
James Loney, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Lee |
What stands out is the remarkable similarity between Vicente Padilla and Kam Loe. In 2008, one will be entrenched as Texas’s #2 starter, while the other will fight for a middle-relief role. Such is life.
Posted by Lucas at November 1, 2007 11:00 AM