Young, Talented, and Left-handed

Last night Chris Sale put on an impressive performance.  Facing the American League’s third best team in terms of on-base percentage, Sale allowed only 4 base runners, good for a 0.52 WHIP.  The Yankees not only have the 3^rd best OBP in the AL, but they have also scored the 2^nd most runs in the American League this season.  Sale allowed one run. 

It’s safe to say that Chris Sale, left-handed starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, stopped the freight train that is the Yankees offense for 7 and 2/3 innings.  So, how did he do it?

www.Brooksbaseball.net compiles PitchFX data for every pitch thrown.  According to data they have compiled, when facing left-handed hitters, Sale predominantly uses his four-seam fastball.  In all counts, Sale uses his four-seam fastball 52% of the time.  This factoid proves fascinating because most left-handed pitchers, when facing left-handed hitters, utilize breaking pitches like curveballs and sliders far more often than straight fastballs.  They do so because the curvature of breaking pitches can deceive the hitter, when hitting in this case from the left side of the plate, to thinking the pitch might hit them.  So, it’s fascinating that a lefty with such a nasty slider would throw his fastball so often, in all counts, to left-handed hitters. 

 

The answer show’s its face when we look at different situations.  When Sale is ahead in the count, he uses his slider more than 50% of the time to lefties, but when he is behind in the count, he uses his two-seam and four-seam fastballs.  This demonstrates a common trend amongst talented young pitchers.  Young talents like Sale trust no pitch more than their four-seam fastball and thus utilize it in the most compromising situations, even when facing left-handed hitters who have issues hitting against breaking balls from left-handed pitchers.  Lastly, when facing right-handed batters, Sale uses his changeup, which breaks towards the outside part of the plate making it difficult to hit. 

The Yankees had 4 lefties and 5 righties in their lineup last night.  No matter which side of the batters boxe Yankee hitters positioned themselves; Sale was up to the task, a feat uncommon amongst young pitchers.

 (vs. LHH)

 (vs. RHH)

Another aspect of Sale’s pitching that makes him so dominant is his deception.  Sale derives this deception from his windup. Click HERE to see Sale's dynamic delivery.

As you can see in the above images, Sale’s pitches all come from the far side of the 1^st base rubber.  His tall, lean frame becomes compact during his delivery and then explodes towards home plate when he uncoils his legs, all while keeping the ball well hidden from the batter's view.  All of this makes it just a bit more difficult for every hitter, left-handed or right-handed, to win the battle against Sale.  As you can also see from the above pictures, most of Sales pitches to left-handed batters cross the plate either at the middle of the plate or the outside corner.  Righties get a healthy dose of pitches on the outside corner as well, with some sliders crossing on the inner half of the plate. 

Before the 2012 season Sale pitched out of the bullpen.  He did so well, but since joining the rotation, his performance has been steller.  He has posted a 5.4 rWAR, 4.2 fWAR, and a 3.1 WARP so far this season, which is good for top 10 in the AL amongst pitchers.*  He has an 8.8 K/9 rate and a 1.03 WHIP, 2 solid indications that he keeps runners off base.  The White Sox have won 16 of his 23 starts and have only lost 4 starts in which Sale has walked fewer than 3 batters.  10 of his 23 starts have come against opponents with current playoff hopes, and of those 10 starts the White Sox have won 6 games.  The lone knock on Sale has been his inability to guide the White Sox to victories over division rival Detroit, but with only two starts against them this season, we do not have a large enough sample size to make predictions for future performance agains the Tigers. 

While Kenny Williams, the White Sox General Manager, applauds all of Sale’s accomplishments, the most gratifying part to the Chris Sale story is that the southpaw doesn’t become a free agent until the 2017 season.  In 2012 Sale is set to make $500,000, a minute amount of money for his performance.  In fact, according to Fangraphs, Sale has been worth about $18.8 million this season.  At 23 years old, Chris Sale looks to be one of the bright young lefties in baseball, and will most likely compete for the American League Cy Young award in only his first season as a Major League starting pitcher. 

*fWAR comes from Fangraphs.com; rWAR from baseball-reference.com; WARP from baseballprospectus.com

Attitude Problems

Crack!
Johnny, an 11-year old little leaguer swings with ferocity, hoping to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible.  Maybe he does so to make his parents proud, prove to his friends that his small frame does not imply a lack of power, or to prove something to his older brother.  Despite the reason, the youngster fails to hit the ball very far, instead popping it up to the shortstop.  In disgust the hitter walks up the first base line readying himself to return discouragingly to the dugout.  Instead, the shortstop drops the pop-up and then hurries a throw to first base that goes 3 feet over the first baseman's head hitting the fence next to the dugout.  Wallowing in his lack of power Johnny does not hear his coach, his teammates, and all of the parents in the crowd screaming for him to run to first base, and by the time he comprehends the situation the first baseman has already retrieved the ball and tagged first base completing the out.  


Despite feeling depressed and embarrassed for Johnny, this moment depicts a rudimentary yet crucial baseball lesson.  Johnny, as well as all young baseball players, learn that no matter what happens, always run it out.  Whether the hitter pops it up foul to the third baseman or hits a home run, he or she should always run hard to first base.  Although 9/10 times a weak popup in the infield will be caught for an out deeming the act of hustling to first base a waste, there exists a chance that the fielder will drop the ball.  Many times in sports, players will weigh risks and rewards, quickly calculating in their minds whether to attempt a deep pass or to dump the ball off to the running back, or try and take on 3 defenders instead of waiting for your teammates to run down court.  All sports involve split second decisions in which a player decides to make the safe play with less likelihood of reward or to attempt the spectacular play with higher risks but greater rewards.  In baseball these decisions occur often, but the decision to hustle or not should never be one of them.  


A player who does not hustle or run the ball out, not only embarrasses themselves, but disrespects the game as well.  The decision not to hustle is one in which the player puts themselves ahead of their team and the game.  In little league, coaches use such occurrences as learning opportunities for the youngsters, a time to teach them that not hustling is wrong.  When a professional baseball player does not hustle or run out a seemingly routine play, fans boo, managers yell, and reporters ask questions.  Fans understand, to some extent, that players will not always get a hit or make the spectacular catch, but they expect that a man who plays a game for a living and gets paid 40 times as much money to do so as a public school teacher does to tame and educate rowdy 11-year olds will put all his effort into an act as simple as running.  Managers want their team to win, and winning first and foremost comes from playing hard and playing intelligently.  Not hustling constitutes laziness and stupidity, thus most managers will not accept lackadaisical and asinine play.  Reporters will berate players with questions pertaining to the lack of effort, possibly over-examining the play causing the player to respond with anger, another bad move.


Recently such situations have "popped up" in Major League Baseball.  As a Phillies fan I still remember June 5th, 2008 when Jimmy Rollins hit a pop up to shallow left field with runners on 2nd and 3rd base and 2 outs.  Reds shortstop Paul Janish dropped the ball allowing Carlos Ruiz to score.  Rollins jogged apathetically to first base where he remained when the play finished.  Had Rollins been running hard, he would have easily made it safely to second base.  One inning later Rollins did not join his teammates on the field because Charlie Manuel benched him.  When asked about the play after the game Rollins said, "There is no explanation," Rollins said. 

"I just didn't do it. It happens every once in a while. Sometimes the manager gets you. It shouldn't happen. I'm not disappointed in myself. I know better. Just go out there and make sure I don't do it again. Nothing to get disappointed about. Something you learn from. Don't do it again."

   Despite Rollins' unenthusiastic play the Phillies finished the season in 1st place in the NL East and won the world series.  Rollins' lack of effort did not affect the game or the season adversely, but it represented a style of play that, if contagious, could cause a team to lose respect, fans, and games.  

Even more recently, Phillies rookie right fielder Dominic Brown scalded a ground ball to Oakland A's second baseman Jemile Weeks who bobbled the ball, recovered and easily threw out the speedy Brown. Brown did not hustle up the first base line, making what could have been a close play into a routine out.  When asked after the game Brown said, 

"It was definitely a wake-up call, I wasn't even thinking about it until I talked to Charlie. I was like, 'You know what, that's not my style of play.  I'm not mentioning no names, but a couple guys got on me, which is good," Brown said. "I was wrong. My dad got on me. He said, 'You need to run the ball out and I'm not going to say anything else.' He got on me pretty tough about it." 

 Brown's manager, teammates, and even father found it upsetting to see such a bright young talent not playing the game correctly.  Dominic responded the next day by hitting a home run and a double against Josh Beckett.  Although home runs and doubles do not make up for Brown's mental error the previous game, it shoes the resilience needed to be an everyday Major Leaguer.   

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen never hides his emotions, cringing during losses and celebrating wildly during wins.  He never shies away from talking to the media and has always called out his players and sometimes even his superiors when he is unhappy.  Guillen's center fielder Alex Rios popped up in foul territory to Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton on tuesday lazily jogging up the first base line.  After Rios' next at bad Guillen benched him for his lack of hustle.  Unlike Brown and Rollins Rios barely commented on the play saying,  

"It happened last night, and what can you do? [Guillen] had to do what he had to do, and it’s all good. Let’s move forward."

Guillen's response perfectly depicts the attitude of spectators when professional athletes become lazy.  

"I don’t think I send the message to him — I just send the message to the team.  I think the worst thing that can happen to any manager is when the players don’t play the game right. I’m a big baseball fan. We have people in the stands watching us play. As long as I’m here, I’m not going to let it happen.  I don’t have nothing against Rios. . . . I never criticize my players for being 0-for-4 or striking out, but I will criticize my players when they’re not playing the way they should be playing." 

No matter your size, age, or skill level, every athlete should hustle.  In a competition, apathy is akin to giving up.  Major Leaguers are paid exorbatent amounts of money to play a game.  Fans revere professional athletes, wishing they could switch places with them for even one day.  Professional baseball players are blessed to play instead of work for their salaries, being compensated for it very well.  In doing so they become icons who, at times, may not perform up to their potential, but must always remember to play hard.  No play is ever over until the umpire says out or safe, and no player should ever assume anything because to do so is to become a prima donna instead of a professional.  Whether it is 11-year old Johnny or a two time All-star outfielder like Alex Rios, all players at every level should play with purpose and vigor. Respect the game, hustle, and play intelligently, these three axioms ring true at all times and should never be forgotten.