The American League introduced the Designated Hitter rule for the 1973 season, a move still the subject of debate. While some enjoy the extra offense the DH provides, others obtain a similar level of enjoyment from watching the theater of the absurd that is pitcher hitting. This absurdity has been on display in the 2018 NLCS, in which Wade Miley went 2 for 2 in game 2, Clayton Kershaw walked twice in game 5, and of course, Brandon Woodruff went deep off of Kershaw in game 1. Though, pitchers slashed just .115/.144/.148 in 2018, there are few things more compelling and often times thrilling than a pitcher who is somehow able to reach base. Unfortunately for Tigers fans, Detroit pitchers were decidedly not compelling at the plate this season; none reached base at all.
The 2018 Tigers were the 17th team to go an entire season without a pitcher getting on base since the introduction of inter-league play (and the return of AL pitchers hitting) in 1997. In 19 plate appearances, 8 Detroit hurlers combined to hit .000, slug .000, and get on base at a .000 clip. The group zigged when others zagged by hitting 100% of their batted balls on the ground, boldly rebuking the fly ball revolution. This had only been accomplished by 9 groups of pitchers since 1997, 4 of which also failed to reach base. The failure of any Detroit pitcher to hit a fly ball or line drive may be considered abysmal, but they were slightly less abysmal when it came to striking out, which only happened in 57.9% of their plate appearances. This is below average even for pitchers, but it was only the 5th worst rate in 2018, and just 22nd worst since 1997. Take pride in that eye at the plate, boys.
Some might say I have already dug too deep into a small sample of batting results from people who aren't selected for their ability to hit, but if you're still reading you might not say that, so I'll dig deeper. The eye at the plate remark wasn't purely in jest, as Tigers pitchers only swung at 32.1% of pitches out of the zone, not far from the league average of 30.9% among all batters. They kept the bat on their collective shoulders, only swinging at 44.1% of pitches in the zone. Their patience was rewarded with a total of 15 balls across the 19 plate appearances, as apparently opposing pitchers felt it was safe to attack their Detroit counterparts. The only 3 ball count of 2018 was worked on the final day of the season by Spencer Turnbull, who took five out of six pitches in the at bat, including strike three. That strikeout was undoubtedly the third best plate appearance for a Detroit pitcher this season.
The other highlights of the season include two sacrifice bunts, and really nothing else. Micheal Fulmer put one down on June 20th, and Francisco Liriano celebrated the 242nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by advancing Jose Iglesias to second base against the Cubs. Fulmer bunted into a double play the previous day, which seems to be unrelated to any patriotic festivities. Matthew Boyd bunted foul for strike three on April 25th, and Fulmer missed on a bunt attempted for strike three the following day. Only Fulmer received three plate appearances in a game, which he did on June 20th, a 5-3 loss to the Reds. Warwick Sapould and Drew VerHagen earned trips to the plate after coming out of the bullpen, bold moves which did not pay off.
This has been an overdue and perhaps overly-long review of Detroit pitchers batting in 2018. The pitchers were historically bad in the batter's box this year to go along with some below average play on the mound. I believe that the Tigers should pursue Clayton Kershaw if he opts-out this winter, not because of his pitching prowess, but because his 82 wRC+ was the best among pitchers with at least 40 plate appearances this season. If for some reason you'd like to learn more about Detroit pitchers batting in 2018, you might learn more here. Now for your viewing pleasure, this article shall conclude with a table summarizing the 19 plate appearances Detroit pitchers made this season.
Date |
Opponent |
Batter |
Pitcher |
Result |
Apr 25 |
Pirates |
Strikeout Swinging |
||
Apr 25 |
Pirates |
Strikeout Swinging |
||
Apr 25 |
Pirates |
Strikeout (foul bunt) |
||
Apr 26 |
Pirates |
Strikeout (missed bunt) |
||
Apr 26 |
Pirates |
Michael Fulmer |
Ivan Nova |
Strikeout Swinging |
Jun 19 |
Reds |
Matthew Boyd |
Strikeout Swinging (2-3) |
|
Jun 19 |
Reds |
Sal Romano |
Groundout (4-3) |
|
Jun 20 |
Reds |
Michael Fulmer |
Strikeout Swinging |
|
Jun 20 |
Reds |
Michael Fulmer |
Tyler Mahle |
Sacrifice Bunt (3-4) |
Jun 20 |
Reds |
Michael Fulmer |
Tyler Mahle |
Strikeout Swinging |
Jul 3 |
Cubs |
Michael Fulmer |
Groundout (4-3) |
|
Jul 3 |
Cubs |
Michael Fulmer |
Kyle Hendricks |
Bunt Double Play (3-5-4) |
Jul 4 |
Cubs |
Sacrifice Bunt (5-3) |
||
Jul 4 |
Cubs |
Francisco Liriano |
Jose Quintana |
Groundout (6-3) |
Sep 28 |
Brewers |
Jordan Zimmermann |
Strikeout Looking |
|
Sep 29 |
Brewers |
Groundout (4-3) |
||
Sep 29 |
Brewers |
Daniel Norris |
Strikeout Looking |
|
Sep 30 |
Brewers |
Strikeout Looking |
||
Sep 30 |
Brewers |
Spencer Turnbull |
Gio Gonzalez |
Groundout (U3) |