I don’t know in case you had been conscious of this, however Anthony Santander hits loads of foul balls. Let me rephrase that, Anthony Santander hits largely foul balls. He hit 655 foul balls in 2024, a whopping 220 greater than the balls he really hit into honest territory. In all, 60% of the time that Santander made contact, the ball went foul. That truthfully blows me away. It’s apparent when you cease and give it some thought, however I had merely by no means thought of the likelihood that some gamers would hit extra foul balls than honest balls. Because it seems most gamers hit extra foul balls than honest balls. In 2024, simply 24% of gamers hit extra balls honest than foul.
Nonetheless, Santander’s uncooked whole of foul balls was second solely to Matt Olson. In 2023 and 2022, the one different full seasons of his profession, Santander completed fourth and eighth, respectively. Between the foul balls and the house runs, when Santander involves the plate, you already know precisely what you’re getting: a unbelievable likelihood of bringing house a memento. This season, nevertheless, we’re not simply occupied with the truth that Santander’s foul ball per plate look price was a whopping 98.9%. We’re occupied with one thing a bit extra particular.
Relying on the way you take a look at them, foul balls aren’t essentially a very good factor or a foul factor. Clearly, all strikes are unhealthy, however you’d choose a foul to a whiff. Then again, in case you hit the ball onerous, you’d a lot fairly see it keep honest than land simply on the fallacious facet of the chalk. Nevertheless, some foul balls are clearly worse than others, and that leads us to a different factor Santander does distressingly usually. In 2024, Santander led baseball with 65 popups. He additionally tied for the league lead in 2023 and he completed second in 2022. That’s why we’re targeted on Santander particularly. If you talk about the unholy amalgam of foul balls and popups referred to as the foul out, Santander is unavoidable. These traits mix to create one specific outcome: Santander spends an especially excessive proportion of his follow-throughs along with his head tipped all the way in which again, trying like slightly child leaning out the window and making an attempt to catch raindrops along with his tongue.
Santander didn’t simply lead baseball in foul outs in 2024, he blew the remainder of the league out of the water.
2024 Foul Out Leaders
SOURCE: Stathead
Santander’s 36 foul outs had been 9 greater than Daulton Varsho in second place. There have been solely 14 hitters in all of baseball who had half as many foul outs as Santander. And he didn’t tempo the league for simply this season; he fouled out greater than anybody has within the final 17 seasons. We now have foul out knowledge going again to 1988, and over the 37 seasons that comprise all of recorded historical past, Santander’s 2024 marketing campaign ranks fifth.
Most Foul Outs in a Single Season
SOURCE: Stathead
As you take a look at this checklist, just a few issues would possibly bounce out at you instantly. First amongst them, Joe Carter actually liked fouling out.
Second, loads of the house ballparks of the gamers on this checklist had ample foul territory: Rogers Centre, Oakland Coliseum, and Kauffman Stadium particularly. Oriole Park seems fairly a bit too, which could shock you. Based on Clem’s Baseball Weblog, Oriole Park ranks lifeless in the course of all stadiums, with 23,600 sq. toes of foul territory. Nevertheless, in case you take a look at the way in which that foul territory is distributed, it begins to make slightly extra sense. To indicate you what I imply, I’ve overlaid Oriole Park’s foul territory on Tropicana Discipline. The yellow space is in play on the Trop, the purple space is in play at Camden Yards, and the purple space is in play in each parks.
The Trop ranks fifth in baseball, with 1,700 extra sq. toes of foul territory than Camden Yards. Nevertheless, most of that further territory is down the road previous the infield, the place it takes an especially long term for anybody to make a play on a ball. Oriole Park is a bit deeper proper behind the plate, the place the catcher has a simple likelihood at corralling a popup.
So Santander’s house ballpark hasn’t achieved him any favors, however there’s extra to the story than that. That is about who Santander is as a hitter. From the primary desk on this article, you might need observed that the gamers included are likely to share a sure strategy. Santander, Varsho, Bregman, Paredes, and Santana all concentrate on pulling the the ball within the air, and that strategy can lead a participant to be out in entrance on loads of pitches, beneath loads of pitches, or each. Put these collectively, and also you’ve bought a recipe for making imperfect contact to the underside of the ball.
Santander additionally does his finest work on the backside of the zone. Right here’s a warmth map that exhibits his Runs Above Common. There’s just about nothing however blue when you get to the center of the zone and above.
With a warmth map like that, nobody needs to be making an attempt to get Santander out within the backside third of the zone, and pitchers are very undoubtedly conscious of that. In 2024, 49.7% of the pitches he noticed had been both fastballs or cutters, the seventh-highest price amongst gamers who noticed a minimum of 750 pitches. The typical pitch he noticed crossed the plate at a peak of two.45 toes, fifth highest amongst that cohort. If you see that a lot elevated warmth, you’re certain to get beneath extra balls. Subsequent factor you already know, you’ve bought a sprig chart that appears just like the dregs of the Dippin’ Dots container.
Regardless that each his profile and his house ballpark are pushing him towards this doubtful distinction, it’s necessary to emphasise simply how a lot of an outlier Santander is. Over the previous three seasons, Santander has fouled out 79 instances, 15 greater than José Ramírez in second place. On our all-time checklist of foul outs, Santander’s 2024 marketing campaign is the one season within the prime 30 that has come within the final 10 years. I’m truthfully not 100% certain of why that could possibly be. It’s slightly bit stunning in gentle of the truth that on a per-pitch foundation, the league’s foul ball price has been rising steadily since a minimum of 2002, and popup price has stayed pretty fixed over the previous 20 years. It’s one thing I’ll be fascinated with going ahead, however for now, it makes the season that Santander put up all of the extra absurd.