We all know there are players who have their own specific quirks. Some players start slowly before erupting in May or June. Some players may start off sizzling before fading late in the season. There are probably even stats out there that tell us some people play better on the third Tuesday of every month.
Today I wanted to look at something a little more concrete than the latter, however. Let’s look at the five players who had the biggest discrepancy between their averages at home and on the road in 2010 to help determine if you want to bench any of them when they go on the road.
Pablo Sandoval – San Francisco Giants
Plus-0.122; Home – .330, Road – .208
Sandoval had a poor season overall, hitting .268 with just 13 HR and 63 RBI. Yes, there were multiple problems, but one of them was his struggles on the road. Granted, it was on a much smaller scale in 2009, but he hit .361 at home and .301 on the road that year.
Sandoval struggled away from AT&T Park in 2010. He had just 4 HR. He struck out 17.3 percent of the time (as compared to 11.5 percent at home). His BABIP was an awful .234 (compared to .347 at home). He’s just not that bad, but considering it is the second straight season with significantly better stats at home, it is certainly worth noting.
There’s a lot more to Sandoval than just his home/road split, however. Most notably, will his improved physical conditioning help him improve his on-field performance? Time will tell, but if Sandoval can rebound he is going to be worth using no matter where he is playing.
Luke Scott – Baltimore Orioles
Plus-0.110; Home – .338, Road – .228
Since joining the Orioles, he has always produced better at Camden Yards than on the road:
- 2008 – Home: .275; Road – .238
- 2009 – Home: .269, Road – .248
For the past two years, the power has also been noticeably split, hitting 37 at home and 15 on the road. How many consecutive seasons do we need to see from him with such stark splits before we take notice?
The signing of Vladimir Guerrero is going to shift Scott to a starting spot in the outfield, at least to start the season. With Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie waiting in the wings, extended slumps could easily cost him playing time.
Maybe even a long road trip could cost him his starting spot.
Given what we’ve seen from him over the past two seasons, you may want to consider sitting him when the Orioles go on the road, at least until he proves otherwise.
Dexter Fowler – Colorado Rockies
Plus-0.102; Home – .313, Road – .211
Is it a huge surprise to see a player from the Rockies appear on this list? Coors Field has long been a hitter's paradise, for obvious reasons, so it would’ve been more surprising if a few Rockies didn’t make the cut.
Fowler had a similar split in 2009, when he hit .294 at home and .236 on the road. Obviously, his luck was significantly better at home, where he posted a .384 mark, compared to .276 on the road. Yes, faster players are capable of hitting a higher BABIP, but .384 is a bit extreme. Then again, is that the Coors factor at play?
There certainly is reason to be slightly concerned, but he is still just 25-years old and learning his way in the Major Leagues. I wouldn’t hold this against him quite yet, but be aware of it as the season wears on.
Vernon Wells – Los Angeles Angels
Plus-0.096; Home – .320, Road – .224
It makes you wonder even more exactly what the Angels were thinking, doesn’t it? Of course, for three seasons prior, he actually had a higher average on the road than at home—so that should calm the nerves a little bit.
He's going to be calling a new ballpark home, so it's impossible to draw any conclusions at this point. However, given his career and knowing that he’s never previously had such a big split, the idea of sitting him on the road shouldn’t really be there.
Having said that, you have to wonder if he's even going to be viable in your league to begin with, but that’s an entirely different debate.
Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado Rockies
Plus-0.091; Home – .380, Road – .289
It’s possible that he just sees the ball a little bit better at home, because the difference in his average really came due to his strikeouts and home runs:
- Home – 18.0 percent, 26 HR
- Road – 28.2 percent, 8 HR
Obviously, you aren’t about to go and sit Gonzalez when the Rockies are on the road, so going into too much detail is moot. He’s way too good to sit under any circumstance.
The Next Five
Lance Berkman – St. Louis Cardinals – plus-0.085
Martin Prado – Atlanta Braves – plus-0.084
Starlin Castro – Chicago Cubs – plus-0.082
Brandon Inge – Detroit Tigers – plus-0.082
Aramis Ramirez – Chicago Cubs – plus-0.082
What are your thoughts on this data? Would you bench any of these players when their team’s go on the road? Why or why not?
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- Barmes, Clint
- Buchholz, Clay
- Butler, Billy
- Choo, Shin-Soo
- Ethier, Andre
- Freese, David
- Hudson, Tim
- Hughes, Phil
- Jaso, John
- Johnson, Chris
- Uggla, Dan
- Morrow, Brandon
- Phillips, Brandon
- Reyes, Jose
- Reynolds, Mark
- Rios, Alex
- Sanchez, Gaby
- Stanton, Mike
- Suzuki, Kurt
- Wieters, Matt
- Willingham, Josh
- Young, Michael
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