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June 10, 2009
Pitches Per Out

Which batters make the pitcher work the most? One way to measure this is by pitches per plate appearance. But there is a big difference between working a 9-pitch walk and working a 9-pitch groundout. The best hitters make the pitchers throw a lot of pitches, and don't use up one of their team's outs in the process.

Here are this year's leaders among players with 100 or more plate appearances, through June 9th:

RankNamePitchesPAOutsP/PAP/OutP/27Outs
1.Joe Mauer688158824.358.39227
2.Kevin Youkilis8541901044.498.21222
3.Joey Votto645151834.277.77210
4.Manny Ramirez484120634.037.68207
5.Chase Utley9772391344.097.29197
6.David Wright10342431444.267.18194
7.Russell Branyan9032151264.207.17194
8.Ben Zobrist7321771034.147.11192
9.Adam Dunn10672461514.347.07191
10.Prince Fielder10522531514.166.97188

And the trailers:

RankNamePitchesPAOutsP/PAP/OutP/27Outs
286.Josh Anderson394118873.344.53122
287.Adrian Beltre8402461873.414.49121
288.Jose Lopez8182331843.514.45120
289.A.J. Pierzynski5861821323.224.44120
290.Cesar Izturis5211591183.284.42119
291.Jeff Francoeur7582301733.304.38118
292.Eric Byrnes5621701303.314.32117
293.Yuniesky Betancourt6221921463.244.26115
294.Ty Wigginton5221611263.244.14112
295.Bengie Molina6732151643.134.10111


A pitcher facing an entire lineup of guys like Joe Mauer, Kevin Youkilis, Joey Votto, and Manny Ramirez would have to throw well over 200 pitches a game, while a pitcher facing Bengie Molina, Ty Wigginton, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Eric Byrnes would finish with under 120!

You can download the full data here: Pitches Per Out Midseason 2009, which includes all players with at least 1 PA.


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