June 15, 2016

BP Unfiltered

Clayton Kershaw Should Have, Like, Three Walks Allowed This Year

by Sam Miller

Clayton Kershaw just walked his seventh batter of the season:

Clayton Kershaw's 7th "walk." Yasmany Tomas was actually walking back to the dugout like strike three. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/I00x0nRIPL

— Ryan Walton (@RyanWaltonSBN) June 15, 2016

I'll note right up front that Clayton Kershaw has received dozens, scores, maybe hundreds of favorable calls this year. I'll note here also that even if he'd gotten strike calls on some pitches he deserved, he might still have walked the batters--one strike being, generally, not enough to end an at-bat. Now I'll note for the rest of this piece that HEY UMP QUIT SCREWING US OUT OF ALL SORTS OF CLAYTON KERSHAW RECORDS.

Walk 1: Yangervis Solarte

Balls: 1, 2, 4, 5
BP's Called Strike %:

• 1: 1
• 2: 85
• 4: 0
• 5: 1

***

Walk 2: Hunter Pence

Balls: 1, 2, 3, 4
Called-Strike %:

• 1: 98
• 2: 81
• 3: 68
• 4: 42

***

Walk 3: Freddie Freeman

Balls: 2, 3, 4, 5
Called-Strike %:

• 2: 12
• 3: 0
• 4: 0
• 5: 7

***

Walk 4: David Wright

Balls: 1, 4, 5, 6
Called-Strike %:

• 1: 17
• 4: 1
• 5: 1
• 6: 0

***

Walk 5: Joey Votto

Balls: 2, 3, 4, 6
Called-Strike %:

• 2: 23
• 3: 0
• 4: 4
• 6: 55

***

Walk 6: Daniel Castro

Balls: 2, 3, 4, 5
Called-Strike %:

• 2: 5
• 3: 0
• 4: 57
• 5: 4

***

So, in only two of his six walks before today did he actually throw four pitches that a typical ump would call balls. My guess, which we'll know the answer to tomorrow, is that this tally didn't change today. Seven walks is too many. Be nicer to Clayton!

UPDATE: Ball four to Yasmany Tomas is a strike 98 percent of the time.

Ninety-eight percent, yo!

Thanks to Rob McQuown for research assistance.

Sam Miller is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @SamMillerBB
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