Game Thread Yankees vs Angels Doubleheader Thursday 6/2/22 1:05/7:05-pm @Yankee Stadium

Whew!!

 

In spite of Holmes, the good guys win again, 2-1.

 

Holmes got credited with a "Save" for that performance...can you believe that shit?

 

Trout was hitless in this three-game series. He entered the first game with a .310 batting average, and he closes this stand with a .292 batting average courtesy of Yankee Pitcher's.

 

A lost art form, choking up on the bat. Another lost art form is place-hitting making shifts ineffective.

Great hitters who choked up on a regular basis:
Roberto Clemente
Rod Carew
Pete Rose
Barry Bonds
Ichiro Suzuki
The player and Hall of famer who seems to have started the process of choking up: Tyrus Cobb.

Rather than choke up, Tony Gwynn went to a smaller lighter bat, weighing 30 Oz and 32 to 33 in bat.

Many hitters are going to smaller lighter bats in lieu of choking up, which Tony Gwynn is mostly responsible for starting this alternate way of bat control.

Babe Ruth initially used a 54 oz longer than most players used, a giant piece of lumber, Only a giant strong guy could use and get away with it. In 1927 Ruth went down to a shorter lighter 40 oz bat, when Babe hit his 60 home runs.

Bucky Dents infamous game winning home run versus the Red Sox was accomplished by choking up.
"Typically long balls are not a result of choking up, but contact sure is. It’s all about the big hit (and the big swing), not just about a timely hit by someone choking up on the bat."

 

More on "Choking Up"-

"choking up” on the bat brings the bulk of the mass closer to the rotation axis; it reduces the rotational inertia. ... If the batter is facing a fast pitcher, he or she will often choke up on the bat a bit to increase the bat speed"
Today, only a handful of players are known to choke up on the bat, and if they do, it’s usually only with a two-strike count, or with the game on the line.

There is one major exception: Believe it or not (and you may find this very hard to believe), Barry Bonds—the greatest home run hitter (debatable, since he cheated) of all time by the numbers—choked up on the bat. He claimed he did it for greater bat control and even claimed that by using less of the handle, he got more of the barrel to work with.
Today, choking up on the bat is somewhat of a dying art. Sure, you’ll still see some hitters choke up on the bat (and maybe shorten their swing) with two strikes on them, or if there’s a runner who needs to be moved over a base. When they do, they’ve put power on the back burner, and put bat control into play.

 

...good finds, Matts !