Pitch Selection by Catcher
by Brad on Feb 7, 2012 11:00 AM CST
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PrintAfter writing the Derek Holland catcher splits article I've wanted to post similar pitch selection splits by each Rangers catcher because I find it interesting and it's not available on any sites I'm aware of. The pitch type key matches up with the column headers in the data table after the jump.
| Pitch Types Key | |
|---|---|
| FA | Fastball |
| FF | 4-seam Fastball |
| FT | 2-seam Fastball |
| FC | Cut Fastball |
| FS | Split-finger Fastball |
| SI | Sinker |
| SL | Slider |
| CU | Curveball |
| CH | Change-up |
| SC | Screwball |
| FA | FF | FT | FC | FS | SI | All FB | SL | CU | CH | SC | Pitches | |
| C.J. Wilson | 20.4% | 24.0% | 20.1% | 64.4% | 14.2% | 14.7% | 6.5% | 3591 | ||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 20.3% | 24.0% | 17.4% | 61.8% | 14.6% | 15.4% | 8.0% | 2177 | ||||
| Mike Napoli | 22.7% | 25.4% | 22.3% | 70.3% | 11.6% | 13.3% | 4.7% | 984 | ||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 14.1% | 20.1% | 31.0% | 65.2% | 20.4% | 10.7% | 3.8% | 319 | ||||
| Matt Treanor | 18.9% | 21.6% | 20.7% | 61.3% | 12.6% | 23.4% | 2.7% | 111 | ||||
| Colby Lewis | 4.0% | 46.2% | 10.1% | 60.3% | 22.5% | 8.6% | 8.4% | 3202 | ||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 3.8% | 44.6% | 10.0% | 58.4% | 23.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% | 2668 | ||||
| Mike Napoli | 5.2% | 54.5% | 10.1% | 69.9% | 15.5% | 9.4% | 5.1% | 534 | ||||
| Derek Holland | 65.9% | 65.9% | 11.7% | 11.4% | 10.8% | 3198 | ||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 62.8% | 62.8% | 12.6% | 10.1% | 14.0% | 1680 | ||||||
| Mike Napoli | 71.0% | 71.0% | 10.1% | 14.6% | 4.2% | 1201 | ||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 62.8% | 62.8% | 12.6% | 6.3% | 18.3% | 317 | ||||||
| Matt Harrison | 30.0% | 34.4% | 7.9% | 72.3% | 12.6% | 14.6% | 3014 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 27.6% | 39.0% | 5.8% | 72.4% | 13.6% | 13.4% | 1689 | |||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 33.0% | 28.5% | 10.6% | 72.2% | 11.4% | 16.2% | 1325 | |||||
| Alexi Ogando | 67.3% | 67.3% | 28.3% | 4.2% | 2728 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 69.8% | 69.8% | 26.4% | 3.3% | 1285 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 65.8% | 65.8% | 29.6% | 4.4% | 1180 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 60.4% | 60.4% | 33.2% | 6.4% | 235 | |||||||
| Matt Treanor | 67.9% | 67.9% | 17.9% | 14.3% | 28 | |||||||
| Neftali Feliz | 79.1% | 79.1% | 15.8% | 4.0% | 1062 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 79.6% | 79.6% | 14.8% | 4.6% | 681 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 76.8% | 76.8% | 18.3% | 3.7% | 328 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 86.8% | 86.8% | 13.2% | 38 | ||||||||
| Matt Treanor | 86.7% | 86.7% | 13.3% | 15 | ||||||||
| Darren Oliver | 48.3% | 21.2% | 69.5% | 30.0% | 832 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 44.5% | 23.7% | 68.2% | 31.8% | 548 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 56.6% | 15.4% | 71.9% | 28.1% | 228 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 50.0% | 20.5% | 70.5% | 20.5% | 44 | |||||||
| Matt Treanor | 58.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 25.0% | 12 | |||||||
| Mark Lowe | 62.4% | 62.4% | 26.6% | 8.4% | 758 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 65.6% | 65.6% | 24.7% | 5.9% | 392 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 60.0% | 60.0% | 27.3% | 12.7% | 300 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 58.8% | 58.8% | 29.4% | 3.9% | 51 | |||||||
| Matt Treanor | 40.0% | 40.0% | 53.3% | 6.7% | 15 | |||||||
| Yoshinori Tateyama | 52.9% | 52.9% | 5.9% | 29.7% | 3.0% | 7.1% | 731 | |||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 55.5% | 55.5% | 3.9% | 29.8% | 2.2% | 5.8% | 362 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 49.7% | 49.7% | 9.4% | 27.1% | 4.2% | 9.7% | 288 | |||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 53.6% | 53.6% | 40.6% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 69 | ||||||
| Matt Treanor | 50.0% | 50.0% | 16.7% | 25.0% | 8.3% | 12 | ||||||
| Dave Bush | 35.3% | 13.3% | 48.6% | 24.0% | 22.5% | 1.7% | 595 | |||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 34.9% | 10.9% | 45.8% | 27.0% | 20.0% | 2.5% | 404 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 36.3% | 18.1% | 54.4% | 17.5% | 28.1% | 171 | ||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 35.0% | 20.0% | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 20 | ||||||
| Scott Feldman | 1.0% | 5.1% | 28.7% | 30.6% | 65.4% | 0.2% | 18.2% | 16.0% | 506 | |||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 0.4% | 3.6% | 32.3% | 32.6% | 68.8% | 15.4% | 15.4% | 279 | ||||
| Mike Napoli | 2.7% | 9.5% | 23.6% | 28.4% | 64.2% | 21.6% | 14.2% | 148 | ||||
| Matt Treanor | 26.0% | 27.4% | 53.4% | 1.4% | 21.9% | 23.3% | 73 | |||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 33.3% | 16.7% | 33.3% | 83.3% | 16.7% | 6 | ||||||
| Michael Kirkman | 67.0% | 67.0% | 22.2% | 8.6% | 491 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 66.2% | 66.2% | 22.2% | 8.5% | 352 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 71.3% | 71.3% | 19.8% | 8.9% | 101 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 63.0% | 63.0% | 37.0% | 27 | ||||||||
| Matt Treanor | 63.6% | 63.6% | 9.1% | 27.3% | 11 | |||||||
| Arthur Rhodes | 70.3% | 70.3% | 27.2% | 1.5% | 401 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 65.4% | 65.4% | 31.9% | 1.2% | 260 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 78.8% | 78.8% | 20.2% | 1.0% | 99 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 81.0% | 81.0% | 14.3% | 4.8% | 42 | |||||||
| Mike Adams | 26.7% | 8.1% | 34.8% | 59.2% | 4.7% | 0.3% | 382 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 16.6% | 8.3% | 24.9% | 68.3% | 6.8% | 205 | ||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 38.4% | 7.9% | 46.3% | 48.6% | 2.3% | 0.6% | 177 | |||||
| Darren O'Day | 37.5% | 23.3% | 60.7% | 39.3% | 275 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 29.8% | 29.2% | 59.0% | 41.0% | 161 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 51.8% | 12.0% | 63.9% | 36.1% | 83 | |||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 30.4% | 30.4% | 60.9% | 39.1% | 23 | |||||||
| Matt Treanor | 62.5% | 62.5% | 37.5% | 8 | ||||||||
| Koji Uehara | 51.3% | 11.6% | 33.0% | 95.9% | 4.1% | 267 | ||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 50.0% | 12.1% | 34.5% | 96.6% | 3.4% | 116 | ||||||
| Mike Napoli | 56.4% | 8.2% | 31.8% | 96.4% | 3.6% | 110 | ||||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 45.0% | 40.0% | 15.0% | 100.0% | 20 | |||||||
| Matt Treanor | 38.1% | 47.6% | 85.7% | 14.3% | 21 | |||||||
| Tommy Hunter | 25.9% | 1.8% | 25.9% | 53.6% | 28.6% | 15.0% | 2.7% | 220 | ||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 27.3% | 28.5% | 55.8% | 30.3% | 11.5% | 2.4% | 165 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 21.8% | 7.3% | 18.2% | 47.3% | 23.6% | 25.5% | 3.6% | 55 | ||||
| Pedro Strop | 53.2% | 53.2% | 41.0% | 5.3% | 188 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 53.5% | 53.5% | 41.7% | 3.9% | 127 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 52.5% | 52.5% | 39.3% | 8.2% | 61 | |||||||
| Cody Eppley | 48.6% | 4.6% | 1.1% | 54.3% | 28.0% | 6.3% | 9.1% | 175 | ||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 51.2% | 6.2% | 0.8% | 58.1% | 27.1% | 4.7% | 10.1% | 129 | ||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 60.0% | 60.0% | 20.0% | 4.0% | 25 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 19.0% | 4.8% | 23.8% | 42.9% | 19.0% | 14.3% | 21 | |||||
| Mark Hamburger | 11.4% | 19.3% | 42.9% | 73.6% | 12.1% | 14.3% | 140 | |||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 11.2% | 14.4% | 48.0% | 73.6% | 11.2% | 15.2% | 125 | |||||
| Mike Napoli | 13.3% | 60.0% | 73.3% | 20.0% | 6.7% | 15 | ||||||
| Michael Gonzalez | 68.1% | 68.1% | 26.9% | 3.4% | 119 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 67.6% | 67.6% | 31.1% | 74 | ||||||||
| Matt Treanor | 60.0% | 60.0% | 25.7% | 11.4% | 35 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 100.0% | 100.0% | 10 | |||||||||
| Mason Tobin | 69.1% | 69.1% | 11.7% | 18.1% | 94 | |||||||
| Yorvit Torrealba | 73.5% | 73.5% | 13.2% | 11.8% | 68 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 57.7% | 57.7% | 7.7% | 34.6% | 26 | |||||||
| Grand Total | 0.7% | 43.7% | 10.0% | 6.5% | 0.4% | 4.1% | 65.3% | 17.3% | 8.9% | 7.7% | 0.2% | 22969 |
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I would've thought Mark Lowe and Mike Adams threw more fastballs than that.
I’m assuming these numbers consider Koji’s splitter a split fingered fastball.
That's how it looks.
"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else." by Earl Weaver
PITCHf/x
It’s apparently classifying Adams’ cutter as a slider. It’s throwing off the percentages.
by NoNameOnCard on Feb 7, 2012 11:16 AM CST up reply actions
I think it's doing that for all cutters.
Feliz’s isn’t even listed.
Ever been in a boardroom, or a gang fight? Ever save a life? Ever won a court case against the odds? Ever held a dying buddy in your arms?.- jackanape on "perspective," 11/8/2010.
"do you a jet ski rental place would work here" - Mike E, 5/10/2011.
Which should never happen
I hate The Angels so much, it's actually cramping my style. (See RevHaloFans SBN profile page)
by Gay For Feliz on Feb 7, 2012 11:36 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
FS
Split-fingered fastball can be a misnomer. Koji uses his as a change-up. It’s definitely not hard enough to be considered a fastball. I’d go so far as to say that the FS pitches should not be considered fastballs despite their name.
by NoNameOnCard on Feb 7, 2012 11:18 AM CST up reply actions
This is great data
Torrealba calls fewer fastballs than I would have thought, outside of Feliz of course. Interesting, one of the biggest differences, is how they both approach the Holland CH different (referring to Torrealba and Napoli).
Now I just need to look up how each pitcher performed (FIP, ERA, etc) with each catcher, and perhaps how they performed on those pitches
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
This just piques my interest
then I’m going to wonder about how each of them approaches a progression. Do they have tendencies to call pitches on certain counts in certain situations? This is great stuff
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
No kidding....
"I never argue with people who say that baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn’t. And that’s what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski
by GhostofSteveFoucault on Feb 7, 2012 11:28 AM CST up reply actions
What i find interesting is that
Napoli seems prone to call more fastballs with almost every pitcher except Feliz.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
He called about 70% fastballs for all five starters.
"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else." by Earl Weaver
I thought we were blaming
Torrealba for too many FBs
by RangerMad on Feb 7, 2012 12:39 PM CST via Android app up reply actions
we were
of course, the eye test is never perfect.
Then again, this is just an overall summary for each pitcher. It could be that Torrealba just called fastballs too much in a non fastball count or something to that effect.
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
I was commenting in comparion to their
overall, respective tendencies.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
Exactly what I noticed
Thought that was interesting
Football can go to hell. The Rangers aren't ready for football season and neither am I.
by WyoRanger on Feb 7, 2012 12:57 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
I wish there was a split for Feliz post-Molina talk.....
He didn’t seem to rely on his FB as much after Bengie told him to mix it up a little.
"I never argue with people who say that baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn’t. And that’s what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski
by GhostofSteveFoucault on Feb 7, 2012 11:29 AM CST reply actions
TexasLeaguers.com can let you do that.
http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/
His PitchFX database on his website lets you specify date ranges. You just can’t split by catchers.
"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else." by Earl Weaver
by Brad on Feb 7, 2012 11:36 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks....that's good stuff....the change wasn't as drastic as I thought but
then again, the sample size was smaller post-conversation. Probably a lot more that I’m missing but there is definitely a difference…
Before Bengie
Fastball – 80.5%
SL – 12.0%
Cutter – 4.6%
CH – 1.6%
SI – 1.4%
After Bengie….
Fastball – 74.8%
SL – 13.1%
Cutter – 9.7%
CH – 1.9%
SI – 0.6%
"I never argue with people who say that baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn’t. And that’s what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski
by GhostofSteveFoucault on Feb 7, 2012 11:56 AM CST up reply actions
Your article has inspired me.
I’m going to try to figure out a decent way to do that. I’ve fallen so far behind of where I’d like to be on that site…
by NoNameOnCard on Feb 7, 2012 12:09 PM CST up reply actions
The way I did it...
Was I modified the perl scripts in Mike Fast’s blog on creating a PitchFX database to look at who the starting catcher was and then capture any time a defensive replacement was made. In the “atbat” table I added a column for “catcher” in addition to “batter” and “pitcher”.
It’s not 100%… if a catcher was injured in the middle of an at bat and a change was made, some pitches would get attributed to the wrong catcher in the inning. I think the way I have it is that if a catching change is made mid inning, the entire inning goes to the new catcher. But I didn’t feel like trying to make it 100%. 99.8% was good enough for my purposes.
If you’re using similar Perl scripts, I’ll send you the ones I modified.
"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else." by Earl Weaver
I've hacked the guts out of the originals.
I’m actually in the process of encapsulating everything into PHP classes to help future development.
The problem you describe applies to pitchers, too. There are a few at bats where a pitcher had to leave half-way through an AB. In one case, the pitcher’s handedness changed and made the release point chart look insane.
Was tracking defensive changes the only way you were able to identify a new catcher behind the plate? It obviously sounds like the most reliable. Parsing the XML to find that in the middle of an inning doesn’t sound pleasant, though.
I didn't see it any of the rest of the XML files.
But the navigation to the event wasn’t that bad. I’ll send you my pl files tonight to the email address in your profile.
"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else." by Earl Weaver
Who posted their stick?!
I hate The Angels so much, it's actually cramping my style. (See RevHaloFans SBN profile page)
by Gay For Feliz on Feb 7, 2012 4:45 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Brilliant work.
I always thought Torrealba called way W-A-Y more fastballs than Napoli.
"the PGT isn’t about alerting drunk guys on their mobile as to what the score was." --goET 7-24-11
"Replace Ace? Done. Ace's was too long anyway." --Micah 1-17-12
Most of us did.
Eye test = fail.
Football can go to hell. The Rangers aren't ready for football season and neither am I.
by WyoRanger on Feb 7, 2012 1:09 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Have to say the only pitcher I thought I saw throw more FBs with Torreabla behind the plate...
was Feliz and this seems to back that up. Still surprised that Napoli consistently had more FBs then Torreabla with everyone else though, really felt it would be more equal between the two.
"I wish I could tell you that TRangers fought the good fight, and the 2 strangers let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but Beaumont is no fairy-tale world." - bking
interesting..
Pretty cool chart. Glad I wasn’t the only one that was wrong when they thought Torrealba called more fastballs than Napoli! Can’t believe Koji of all pitchers had the highest percentage fastballs too…crazy
Interesting to see Feliz and Ogando's splits
Wonder how much those will change when Feliz starts and whether it will be enough given how much more exposure he has had in the league
Incorporating cERA wouldn't tell you much of anything.
Garoon: Banned on LSB. Available Only Via Supplement.
I figured cFIP would be way too difficult
It mainly crossed my mind due to Colby and the differences in how Napoli and Yorvit called his games.
534 pitches is a very, very small sample size.
How confident are you that it reflects a different approach between the two catchers with Lewis on the mound?
Garoon: Banned on LSB. Available Only Via Supplement.
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