I can’t stand “professional batters” whiffing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E6Fjho1_Ik
Remember When K’s Were Not So Common?
Baseball in mid-20th century had some of the greatest hittersof all time, like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial. They could hit for average and for power. The Yankee Clipper struck out an average of 28 times per season, Stan The Man 32, and Teddy Ballgame 37. Compare those numbers to todays stars George Springer (110), Aaron Judge (137) and Shohei Ohtani (138). Call Raleigh was the latest swinger to join the 60 home runs in a season club in 2025. Yet he also whiffed 188 times last season! Considering he had 596 at bats, that means roughly one third of his AB’s were strikeouts. Thought of another way, in 162 games 188 K’s mean he’s good for one whiff per game.
Striking Out Is No Fun
Legendary Walter Johnson was probably the fastest pitcher of the early 20th century. Ty Cobb talked about Johnson’s smoking pitches were seemingly invisible. He is currently 10th all-time in strikeouts, in the scorebooks known as K’s. Yet he would sometimes let up on batters once a game was out of reach. He’d slow his pitches down so they could actually knock the ball into play. Teammates got on him for doing this. So, he said baseball wasn’t any fun if you couldn’t hit at all. While there are home team fans putting up K signs for every strikeout during a game, there are other fans fed up with batters creating a breeze on most swings.
I’m willing to bet most fans who have played baseball preferred hitting to any other action they did on the field. They’d likely rather see a line drive screaming off the bat for an out than a hitter scream profanity or smash a bat for striking out.
So, think of it this way: These batters get paid millions and whiff. In contrast, we fans pay hundreds (or even thousands) to see them swing and miss on cable tv or at the ballpark! I wonder how many fans have broken something seeing this happen repeatedly in games.
Ted, Joe, and Stan could all hit for power, average, and drive in runs because they focused on making contact. Williams made it a point not to swing outside of the K zone. The most fundamental hitting technique coaches tell batters from little league up is to make contact. You can’t homer if you don’t get wood or aluminum on the ball, but today’s major leaguers appear to be swingers. If Ted Williams were alive today he’d tell these sluggers that just swinging hard isn’t necessary and often is counterproductive. He’d counsel them to know the strike zone and stay disciplined.
One example today who sticks out is Red Sox outfielder Ceddane Rafaela. The last two seasons pitchers could throw him the ball anywhere and he’d chase it and often miss. Ceddane seemed to feel that he was up to swing and eventually would make contact for a double or homer. As a Sox fan, it was incredibly frustrating watching him and other Sox hitters fail to even advance a runner in scoring position with fewer than two outs. The Red Sox lost around 20 one run ball games in 2025. They easily would have won a handful of them (and the East Division crown) by just making contact with men in scoring position. The odds are better of scoring a runner on a sacrifice fly than going for with a three run jack.
Hitters Vs. Swingers
Hitters are aware of the pitcher’s situational tendencies, his wind up, and how well his “stuff ” is working that day. Also, hitters adjust and go with the pitch if need be to get contact. Swingers use their bats like lumber jacks use their axes trying to knock down a tree in one cut. These hackers feel that their muscle will bend the pitcher to their will and overcome the hurler’s nuances. Anybody can swing a bat, but few can use it as an effective tool to outclass the pitcher. Ted Williams literally wrote the book on great hitting, and it wasn’t about going full torque on every swing.
Motivation
So why are hitters obsessed with hitting 30-40 homers at the cost of going well under .240 in batting average? “Chicks dig the home run” was the marketing slogan MLB used many years ago. Sluggers with body builder physiques, the batters who ground a ball to one side of the infield to move a runner along, will get the pretty gals’ phone numbers passed to them. Owners dig the home run too. Homers put butts in the seats and power hitters are rewarded accordingly with big contracts. The 1998 home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back from a near death experience in 1994. The players went on strike and the World Series was cancelled that year. However, just as Babe Ruth resuscitated the game with his home run power after the 1919 White Sox scandal, the 1998 home run derby got stadiums full again. Granted, steroids put a damper on these broken records of McGuire and Sosa, but fans loved it at the time. It’s an awe inspiring thrill to watch a home run go 500+ feet and hit the third deck or clear the roof.
Hence, teams today analyze how hard balls are hit, not how hard it is to actually hit them. Analyzing stats like “exit velocity” take priority over coaching batters on how to place even a competent sacrifice bunt. Starting pitchers are routinely picking up 6-8 K’s per game as they get swingers to lunge for a ball in the next zip code. How can baseball be sold to a younger generation of fans this way? I remember looking at an inflatable toy souvenir of a batter ready to swing, with the bat being oversized. If kids keep seeing hitters clear the air on three strikes, they’ll wonder why the batters even need their tool.
Is It The Pitching?
Not only are hitters missing too often, but pitchers have also upped their game. Pitchers who relied mainly on a heater or a sharp curve in 1960 would be behind the pack today. Announcers will tell listeners and viewers that hurlers have a six pack of pitches in their arsenal. “He throws a 100 M.P.H. fast ball, slider, curve, slurve, split finger fastball, cutter, change up…” Yes, and that’s not all sometimes! Hitters OTOH, have generally regressed, trying to be one trick home run ponies sitting on the rare fast balls down the middle at only 88 M.P.H. rather than adapt to the variety of pitches in use today.
Rule Changes?
Since the hitters have fallen far behind the pitchers, are rule changes necessary? In 1969 MLB lowered the mounds since the previous season was The Year of The Pitcher. Starter Bob Gibson had an ERA of 1.12 with 268 K’s. Batters were so outclassed that AL batting champ Carl Yastrzemski hit only .301 and was the only .300 hitter in baseball that year. After the mounds were lowered, hitting started to return. What rule changes would we make today (besides putting the ball on a tee)?
*No pitches over 95 M.P.H.
*Any clocked pitch over 95 results in a ball.
*Non-fast ball pitches like curves, sliders, and sweepers can only be used once per at bat.
*All batters who have fewer than 60 K’s in a season must receive a bonus of $1 million.
*All batters who K over 60+ times are required to go to a two week hitting clinic in the off season to address making better contact. Batters who miss the clinic are fined $1 million.
Fans are tired seeing batters walk right back to the dugout instead of run on the base paths. I understand these solutions may not be realistic, but at this point what else have we got to lose except fans?