Who's the Worst Secondary Pitch Hitter (Among Good Hitters)?

The FanGraphs Newsletter, June 2, 2022 [READ IN BROWSER]( June 2, 2022 Hi there! At its core, hitting is about hitting fastballs. I’m not sure that’s a good thing – pitchers don’t throw as many fastballs as they used to, because they know that hitters are hunting fastballs. Look at the aggregate data, though, and it’s clear. So far this year, batters are 93 runs above average against fastballs, and naturally enough, 93 runs below average against all other pitches. Last year, they were 344 runs above average against fastballs. It’s a consistent pattern throughout baseball history. Ask a hitter, and they’ll probably tell you the same thing. You make your paycheck on fastballs, and you hope not to spend it all on everything else. I thought it would be fun to figure out who most embodies this “baseball is about hitting fastballs” lifestyle. In other words, I’m looking for a hitter who is good overall, but incredibly poor at handling secondary pitches. It won’t do to find someone who’s bad at hitting sliders because they’re just bad at hitting; Billy Hamilton is the worst slider hitter in baseball over the past five years (by run value per pitch seen), but well, he wasn’t in the majors for his hitting. READ MORE: [Who's the Worst Secondary Pitch Hitter (Among Good Hitters), by Ben Clemens]( [New-Look Syndergaard Struggles in Return to New York]( The Thor of yore was nowhere to be found on Tuesday night in the Bronx. | by Jay Jaffe [Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat - 6/2/22]( Answers for some, snark about the Royals for others. | by Dan Szymborski [Broadcaster's View: What is the Best Pitching Performance You've Seen?]( Nine big league broadcasters look back at some of the best-pitched games they've witnessed over the years. | by David Laurila [Dominic Smith's Slide Sends Him Back to Triple-A]( Given erratic playing time even with the return of the designated hitter, the mercurial Met has struggled. | by Jay Jaffe [Paul Goldschmidt Is on Fire, and Underrated]( The Cardinals first baseman has been the hottest hitter in baseball since the start of May. | by Ben Clemens [For Eric Hosmer, Not Trying to Lift the Ball Means Better Results]( The Padres' first baseman on why he tries to stay down on the ball while everyone else is looking to launch it. | by David Laurila [Aaron Judge's Decision To Bet on Himself Is Paying Off]( The projection for Judge's next contract has been increasing daily. | by Dan Szymborski [New FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Breaking down Ramírez's sustained success]( by Mandy Bell and Sarah Langs, MLB.com [The Pride of the Kurkjians: This Lou Gehrig Day, my brother -- and best friend -- is facing ALS]( by Tim Kurkjian, ESPN [What's Really Going On with Offense – May Update]( by Rob Mains, Baseball Prospectus ($) [The Phillies have dug themselves a hole: Here’s how deep it is]( by Jayson Stark, The Athletic ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2022 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](