The worst time to strike out

February 22, 2016 Bill Chuck Off The Bill Chuck Files,

where-will-you-be-Chicago-Cubs-640x425
Many pundits have already stated their preference for the 2016 World Champions: the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs are now an outstanding amalgam of youth and experience at the plate, in the field, and on the mound. But as ye olde English proverb states: “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip.”

One of the areas that the Cubs need to work on is their tendency to strike out. They do it a lot. And there is one thing that all baseball people will agree on, whether they are into analytics or traditional baseball, that the worst time to whiff is when there is a runner on third and less two outs.

Call it coincidence or call it karma, but the two teams that struck out the least when there was a runner on third and less than two outs, were the World Champion Royals and the NL champion Mets. Now, I lean toward coincidence because two last or near-last place teams in their respective East divisions were next on the list. Nevertheless, the fact that the KC and NYM were tops makes for a nice story.

Oh, and take a look at what team struck out the most.

Most Strikeouts with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs (2015)

Rk		G	SO
1	KCR	118	34
2	NYM	111	36
3	ATL	109	40
4	BOS	121	40
5	CLE	119	45
6	TEX	130	47
7	CHW	121	48
8	PIT	121	48
9	MIL	121	50
10	MIA	115	50
11	WSN	114	50
12	LAD	113	52
13	LAA	117	54
14	TOR	126	55
15	OAK	124	55
16	SFG	117	55
17	SDP	109	56
18	BAL	110	57
19	DET	124	57
20	CIN	116	59
21	PHI	120	59
22	NYY	122	60
23	SEA	113	62
24	COL	121	62
25	TBR	120	63
26	STL	125	63
27	ARI	120	64
28	MIN	126	70
29	HOU	116	70
30	CHC	120	84

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/22/2016.

Here are the players who whiffed 10+ times with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs (2015)

Rk	Player	G	SO	PA
1	Kris Bryant	34	17	39
2	Chris Davis	33	13	36
3	Starlin Castro	35	12	45
4	Ian Desmond	27	12	34
5	Yasmany Tomas	22	11	24
6	Brandon Belt	28	11	29
7	Ryan Howard	27	11	29
8	Kole Calhoun	37	10	40
9	Justin Upton	33	10	37
10	Brandon Moss	26	10	30
11	Marcus Semien	33	10	37
12	Albert Pujols	39	10	39

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/22/2016.

Tags: Albert Pujols, Brandon Belt, Chris Davis, Cubs, Ian Desmond, Justin Upton, Kole Calhoun, Kris Bryant, Marcus Semien, Mets, Royals, Ryan Howard, Starlin Castro, Yasmany Tomas

Rk		G	SO
1	KCR	118	34
2	NYM	111	36
3	ATL	109	40
4	BOS	121	40
5	CLE	119	45
6	TEX	130	47
7	CHW	121	48
8	PIT	121	48
9	MIL	121	50
10	MIA	115	50
11	WSN	114	50
12	LAD	113	52
13	LAA	117	54
14	TOR	126	55
15	OAK	124	55
16	SFG	117	55
17	SDP	109	56
18	BAL	110	57
19	DET	124	57
20	CIN	116	59
21	PHI	120	59
22	NYY	122	60
23	SEA	113	62
24	COL	121	62
25	TBR	120	63
26	STL	125	63
27	ARI	120	64
28	MIN	126	70
29	HOU	116	70
30	CHC	120	84

Rk		G	SO
1	KCR	118	34
2	NYM	111	36
3	ATL	109	40
4	BOS	121	40
5	CLE	119	45
6	TEX	130	47
7	CHW	121	48
8	PIT	121	48
9	MIL	121	50
10	MIA	115	50
11	WSN	114	50
12	LAD	113	52
13	LAA	117	54
14	TOR	126	55
15	OAK	124	55
16	SFG	117	55
17	SDP	109	56
18	BAL	110	57
19	DET	124	57
20	CIN	116	59
21	PHI	120	59
22	NYY	122	60
23	SEA	113	62
24	COL	121	62
25	TBR	120	63
26	STL	125	63
27	ARI	120	64
28	MIN	126	70
29	HOU	116	70
30	CHC	120	84

Most Strikeouts with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs (2015)

Here are the players who whiffed 10+ times with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs (2015)

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Rk		G	SO
1	KCR	118	34
2	NYM	111	36
3	ATL	109	40
4	BOS	121	40
5	CLE	119	45
6	TEX	130	47
7	CHW	121	48
8	PIT	121	48
9	MIL	121	50
10	MIA	115	50
11	WSN	114	50
12	LAD	113	52
13	LAA	117	54
14	TOR	126	55
15	OAK	124	55
16	SFG	117	55
17	SDP	109	56
18	BAL	110	57
19	DET	124	57
20	CIN	116	59
21	PHI	120	59
22	NYY	122	60
23	SEA	113	62
24	COL	121	62
25	TBR	120	63
26	STL	125	63
27	ARI	120	64
28	MIN	126	70
29	HOU	116	70
30	CHC	120	84