NKY Sluggers

[JamTime]

Well you are wrong on a few points... And while I do have a good sense of humor, I really don't tell myself jokes on a regular basis. I'll address you last point first... The State of KY home run leader has about 14 or so homers. I have no idea how big their field is but what that does say is that HRs are a small part of slugging %. My DD has a grand total of one but has a Slugging % in the .830 range. Multiple base hits 2b and 3b contribute more toward SLG than home runs do in the grand scheme of things. Larger dimension fields obviously have more open space to cover... Hit one to the fence in the gap gives the runner more time to round the bases and possibly and extra cut... Hmmm seems like I just read that one. Hence even more time to cover the bases.

 

Next point.... I would love to know who the hitters are that are as good or close to it as Shelby. Facing what she has to face in a lot of games... Intentional or not so intentional walks, if they are not, it is usually a mistake pitch. The schedule the Birds play... There are not many gimmies on HHS schedule unless they are mandatory and from what I've seen, they usually get the #1 in the circle. Maybe not always but most of the time. Shelby did not play in a couple games that could have padded her stats. Lastly, why don't we compare the teams the sluggers play against and check the win-loss record of such teams. I'm going to check ours tonight just because... Let's see??? Would Shelby have better stats against teams with losing records or winning records? Well I know one thing... She has some pretty good ones against the ones with winning records. And you may want to witness some of her home runs... You obviously have not since you are under the impression most would not have cleared deeper fences.

 

My original comment was directed about her speed... And yes I do fall for the Shelby lore... If you want to talk about hitting, power hitting especially, there is no one in Northern KY in the same category... I am a self professed HHS Homer (pardon the pun) and I feel a lot of our girls are very good at what they do... Haley Coffey can pick it as good as any SS. As with Whitney Quillen at third... Our first baseman has a .984 fielding % with over 150 chances. We have a team batting avg over .340. Are they all the best in NKY? Maybe not but pretty darn good....

 

As I stated before, Shelby is a great hitter. And more than just a power hitter, that’s obvious, just look at her average. The gap that is shown in her slugging percentage verses some others in the area may not be as wide if the playing fields were even.

 

You may believe I’m wrong on a few points, but you didn’t show how the statement that the (shallow) fences prevented more homers than gave her could possibly be true. You also didn’t show how smaller fields don’t help big hitters with slugging percentage.

 

It also sounds like you really don’t know the meaning of slugging percentage (SLG%). It is a formula; the total number of bases (gained with hits) divided by the number of At Bats. In simplistic terms then, a HR is twice as beneficial as a double in SLG%. Suppose a batter steps up and hits a HR in their first at bat. Their SLG% is 4. Suppose another batter steps up and hits a double in their first at bat. Their SLG% is 2. That second batter could hit doubles at every at bat and never reach SLG% of 4, they would stay at 2. So, your statement of “Multiple base hits 2b and 3b contribute more toward SLG than home runs do”, is totally incorrect.

 

Again, Shelby is a great and powerful hitter. And you’re welcome to believe that shallow or deep fields have no impact on her SLG%. You can also believe what you want about other teams’ competition. You can also believe that there is an enormous gap between Shelby and all other NKY hitters. But I feel that if an objective eye looks closely at the facts, they might come to some different conclusions.

 

I’m glad you’re proud of your Highlands team, they are a well-coached, talented team, and a nice group of girls.

[Playtowin29]

Well you clearly did not get my point... My point was that doubles and triples are typically more prevalent than the home run. Not that a home run counted less. And to your point of doubles never catching up to home runs, your comment seemed to be assuming the HR hitter never took another at bat, or only hit 2b, 3b or HRs. if that's the case then of course you are correct.

 

The point that smaller fields prevented home runs was based on the fact that larger fields have more... Much more opportunity for inside the park home run.

 

I guess I can believe that competition has something to do with it...

The team with the largest field that was mentioned, Villa. Their opponents win/loss record. 155/329

 

HHS opponents win/loss record. 379/297 (not including 3 OH and IN games, couldn't find their scores) Competition does matter... If you play teams that, on average lose twice as many games as they win, and you are a good hitter, I would expect those numbers regardless of field dimensions. All of my rant may sound a bit arrogant, but facts are facts.

 

Your team, the Cru, played us very well early in the season and showed our weaknesses at the time. We played poorly BUT it probably would not have mattered because we got smoked... Hats off to the Cru. With a little luck and some better play... Maybe we can get a chance to even the slate in a few days.