A big swing and a miss! If WSEM used a silhouette logo in the style of MLB, it would have to be this. Why would a league celebrate a swinging strike? Well, that image perfectly captures what you'll see around here more often than not. "Yup, this is literally WSEM," acknowledged our own Evan Bischoff. Strikeouts aren't even something to be ashamed of when playing a game designed to give the pitcher every advantage. Sure, you could look at the numbers and say, "we suck!" Or just as fairly, you could come to the conclusion that the pitching is just too good. And that is definitely a commodity worth celebrating.
We've always thought of WSEM hitting numbers as "behind the curve." To assess the reality of that situation we've grabbed the 2015 numbers for 12 other leagues, plus Major League Baseball and the NWLA Tournament, to see exactly where we sit in the wiffleball landscape. To do this we're looking at two key stats: 1) league batting average, and 2) hits per strikeout recorded. Leagues were selected through a combination of notoriety and ease of pulling up the required stats. The numbers put up by each league are laid out in the table below.
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| BATTING AVG: |
.202 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.33 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.254 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.12 |
||
| (Adjusted for errors) |
| BATTING AVG: |
.271 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.20 |
|
| BATTING AVG: |
.243 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.52 |
||
| (Adjusted for errors) |
| BATTING AVG: |
.259 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.56 |
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|
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| BATTING AVG: |
.283 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.62 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.439 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.49 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
|
| BATTING AVG: |
.362 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.60 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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|
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| BATTING AVG: |
.365 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.91 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.255 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.81 |
||
| (Adjusted for errors) |
| BATTING AVG: |
.267 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.84 |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.330 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.46 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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|
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 |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.310 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.01 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.354 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.51 |
||
| (Adjusted for errors) |
| BATTING AVG: |
.374 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.59 |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.254 |
| Hits per SO: |
0.49 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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|
 |
 |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.333 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.16 |
||
| (Adjusted for errors) |
| BATTING AVG: |
.358 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.24 |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.425 |
| Hits per SO: |
1.41 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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| BATTING AVG: |
.401 |
| Hits per SO: |
2.37 |
||
| (Errors not recorded) |
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First things first: It's true. Our league batting average and hits per strikeout recorded are significantly lower than any of the leagues in this comparison.
Palisades WBL comes the
closest in both categories: scoring only marginally better in H/K (+0.13), but still hitting much better overall with a 0.52 advantage in AVG. The NWLA Tournament is the only closer mark for AVG, but we might be able to blame our bats being involved for shrinking that gap [The Dads hit .237 this year].
Second things second: You'll notice that some of the sampled leagues include an "
Adjusted for errors" correction made to their final numbers. WSEM does not score errors in our league games; if a fielder bobbles an easy ball, that's a hit. So, to put everything on a level plain we need to count the "errors" recorded in leagues that use them as hits. Obviously, this results in the gap widening even more.
After looking at these numbers, it's clear we can proudly own the "big swing and a miss" silhouette. I say "proudly" because this sport was crafted for pitchers, and clearly we're doing well in that part of the game. All told, 5 of 13 leagues (including WSEM) on this list had more strikeouts than hits in 2015 - and OCWA and TBW pitchers could easily make that number 7 had they played a fast-pitch style this year. I like when it falls that way. Sure, it would be nice to have the league average a bit further away from the Mendoza line (and we'll discuss one or two ways of doing that this winter), but the hits feel best when they're fought for and earned; when you know you've overcome something impressive; when there is some long-awaited, vehemently plotted vengeance involved. And that's why you shouldn't be ashamed of the strikeout.
