MLB Playoffs: New York Yankees received the most incorrect strike calls in the AL
There is a conspiracy around Major League Baseball that large market teams receive favorable calls over small market teams for the purpose of setting up high-rating playoff matchups. How does that fare out among teams in the MLB playoffs?
Even though instant replay is not a perfect system, it has gone a long way in leveling the playing field for all teams. Unfortunately for most teams, the strike zone still remains a large problem as it is one of the few aspects of the game that cannot be argued or reviewed, even in an environment as important as the MLB playoffs.
As the strike zone is up to the opinion of the home plate umpire on each given day, many develop conspiracy theories that small market teams receive more unfavorable calls at the plate. The reasoning behind these theories is that MLB only wants large market teams in the playoffs for improved television ratings.
Nonetheless, advanced statistics help disprove this logic for at least one large market team with a long storied franchise history. According to Statcast, the New York Yankees received the most incorrect strike calls on their batters while they were at the plate this season.
During 2018, the Yankees saw 25,119 total pitches as a team. Out of these pitches, they received 696 strike calls that were tracked as ending up outside of the strike zone. Although this only accounted for 2.8% of their total pitches, it was the most in the American League.
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Out of all of the players in the AL, Aaron Judge ranked 5th, Giancarlo Stanton ranked 6th, Brett Gardner ranked 8th, and Aaron Hicks ranked 18th for the most individual incorrect strike calls. As Judge, Hicks, and Stanton were the 2, 3, and 4 hitters in the AL Wild Card game, the large percentage of incorrect strikes called on the trio have the possibility to make a large impact on the lineup manager Aaron Boone prefers.
On the other side of the equation, the Yankees received the 4th fewest amount of incorrect ball calls while they were at the plate. Out of their aforementioned 25,119 pitches this season, only 452 pitches were called for balls that ended up inside of the strike zone.
Unfortunately for Judge, Stanton, and Hicks, they do not rank as high for receiving the benefit of incorrect ball calls that were strikes. Judge is 56th, Hicks is 25th, and Stanton is 18th.
The AL teams that received an additional draft pick in the competitive balance round of the draft in 2018 were the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Rays. Despite these teams being in a small market, the Orioles received the least amount of incorrect strike calls with 558. The A’s ranked 4th while the Twins, Rays, and Indians ranked 6th, 7th, and 8th, respectively.
The defending World Series champion Houston Astros ranked 2nd behind the Yankees. The team with the highest payroll in the MLB is the Boston Red Sox and they ranked 5th. In the National League, the heavy spending Los Angeles Dodgers received the most incorrect strike calls while the Colorado Rockies received the least incorrect strike calls, even though they were one of the NL teams that made a selection in the competitive balance round of the draft..
Next. Sox fan hits Giancarlo Stanton after throwing back a HR ball. dark
These numbers basically reflect that teams who are the most patient at the plate will receive the most incorrect strike calls over the long 162 (or 163) game season. However, these numbers do confirm that there is not a strike zone bias towards any specific team. After all, the MLB would likely love to see a Yankees and Astros ALCS rematch from last season, but these two were given the toughest strike zones throughout the 2018 regular season.