Thread: MLB 2017 Season
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Old 02-14-2017, 11:01 AM   #43
TheAlpineOracle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squiggs96 View Post
Yay for hyperbole! I'll interrupt your rant with some facts and stats.

The lack of DH does not add 20-30 minutes per game. In fact, because the AL managers don't have to worry about their pitchers hitting, they can switch pitchers more often to get better matchups on the mound. Games in NL parks are 15 seconds longer than AL parks. By removing outliers, NL games are quicker by up to 3 seconds! Source: FiveThirtyEight https://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/...the-game-down/.

There are pitchers who are decent hitters. Bumgarner, Greinke, Wood, and Kershaw come to mind right away. There are also pitchers who are terrible hitters, such as Bartolo Colon. Amongst all MLB players with enough qualifying at bats in 2016, the lowest batting average was .209. There were 30 players in 2016, with enough qualifying at bats, that had a batting average less than .250. There were 27 pitchers that had a batting average of .250 or more. 8 of these pitchers did that with 10 or more at bats.

In 2016 AL teams used an average of 519 IP from their bullpen, while NL teams used an average of 540 IP. Over 162 games that means each NL team is using 21 innings of bullpen more than the AL teams, or 1 extra inning of bullpen every 7.7 games. That's basically the same amount, especially when you add in the NL teams averaged 5 more innings pitched than the AL teams for the year. What stat I wish I could find is to see number of pitching changes. I'm sure if I look harder, I could find it, but as of now it eludes me.
What does inning pitched per bullpen have anything to do with it? Often times in the AL you will get a guy from the BP pitching multiple innings because he doesn't have to bat. That's not as frequent in the NL because they usually sub them out come time to bat, especially when the rosters expand. You'll never see a guy like Andrew Miller in the NL for that very reason.

Also, the time of the games could be similar given the DH (more at bats), but the pace of play isn't in my mind.

Keep in mind though, I don't watch NL games very often, and when I do it's usually at the end of the year when the roster expansion is in full effect so it is skewed.
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