polarbear1982 wrote:
Since 2006, as a RH batter, Berkman is hitting .261, Slugging only .429, with an OBP of .349 for an OPS of .778.

Since 2006, as a LH batter, Berkman is hitting close to .300, Slugging nearly .600, with an OBP near .400, and an OPS of nearly 1.000 over the same time span as a LHer.

Why bother to switch hit with such poor productivity as a RHer?
Berkman says he would hit much worse against LHP if he didn't switch hit. That makes a lot of sense, because he has switch hit ever since he was a kid. He has said that he can't stand in against LHP without switch hitting at this point. Even though his split is worse than nomal this year, keep in mind that he only has 74 at bats against LHP so far, which means that there is a sample size issue too. Every time this issue comes up (and it always comes up when he goes through a period when his hitting against LHP is horrible), I point out that Berkman's career splits are not that unusual, even among good hitters. On a career basis, Berkman is an average hitter vs. LHP (.793 OPS) and a tremendous hitter vs. RHP (1.024 OPS). A couple of years ago, I gave examples of some great (non switch hitting) hitters who had similar career platoon splits to Berkman. (Examples of LHB first baseman with similar career splits, Fred McGriff and Willie McCovey.)

To elaborate on the sample size issue....at bats versus LHP can sometimes be a small enough sample over a single season to result in a a lot of variability. I'll give you this example:

2004 Jeff Bagwell .291 BA .897 OPS vs. RHP .149 BA .589 OPS vs. LHP Bagwell had 125 plate appearances against LHP that year.



Last Edited By: Clack Jun 25 09 7:48 AM. Edited 2 times.