The Resurgence of Pat Burrell

by Bill Baer on October 26th, 2010
Posted in 2010 Playoffs, Graphs, MLB, Sabermetrics | Print | 5 Comments »

At the Baseball Analytics blog, I looked at the resurgence of former Phillie Pat Burrell. The results may surprise you.

It appears to be that, in 2009, he was simply unable to hit soft pitches. As a Phillie, he had always been known for his ability to turn on an inside fastball. On the other hand, he was known for a “butt jut” on inside breaking balls. When he read the spin of an inside breaking ball, his feet would remain planted, but he would arch his back so that he almost looked like a backwards C at home plate.

In 2010, he regained his ability — or timing, most likely — to hit the soft stuff.

Pretty heat maps follow.

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  1. 5 Responses to “The Resurgence of Pat Burrell”

  2. By hk on Oct 26, 2010

    Raul Ibanez: $31.5M for 3 years
    Pat Burrell: $16.0M for 2 years

    Remind me again, why did we let Pat the Bat go?

  3. By Bill Baer on Oct 26, 2010

    And more importantly, why did the Phillies let him go without offering arbitration?

  4. By micah on Oct 26, 2010

    He may have re gained the ability to hit the slow ball, but more importantly he acquired the ability to have anything he didn’t swing at be called a ball. Kinda funny how all of the Giants players gained this ability at the same time, but it really helped them.

  5. By Scott G on Oct 27, 2010

    Really, Micah?

    I guess you don’t recall that whole Burrell/Halladay shouting/stare down match?

  6. By Scott G on Oct 27, 2010

    shouting/staring*

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