Nick Swisher appears especially excited about his new batting stance. In fact, Swisher is so excited; he seems to be swinging a lot more this season, trying to hit balls in the zone and balls out of the zone. So far, Swisher’s O-Swing percentage is 26.1%, while his career mark is 17.6%. Relative to previous seasons, he’s swinging at quite a few pitches outside of the strike zone. Interestingly, though, he is also making more contact with those pitches, as his contact rate on such offerings is 90.3%, Meanwhile, his career mark in that regard is 84.7%.
The same is occurring for actual strikes, as well, and to a great degree. So far, Swisher has swung at 71% of the pitches he has seen inside of the strike zone. His career Z-Swing percentage, on the other hand, is 61.7% (it was 56.7% last year). Like with balls, Swisher is being very aggressive with pitches over the plate. And, like with pitches outside of the zone, Swisher’s contact rate on strikes is solid at 90.3%. For comparison, his career rate is 84.7%.
We’re only a few games into the season, but Swisher is making more contact (so far). If this approach is maintained, perhaps it will be the end-result of Swisher’s new batting stance.
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One Response to Swisher's being more aggressive at the plate
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TIQ IQ
Something has clicked the last week or so in Swish’s game. He’s smiling, getting hits, and playing a nice right field. He got a particularly good jump on a liner to the gap, turning Mr. Reinhold’s double into an out, probably for Phil. That blue leather is starting to take a nice sheen.