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My favorite teams
Actually it isn't. FI has Zobrist been a huge HR hitter? Why is he so valuable. Desmond Cain? Castellanos is not the same hitter as Bryant or Rizzo. Castellanos understands situations and works his barrel to hit to RF. I recall recently a deep fly ball to RF that resulted in a Sac Fly. The pitch was not on the outside corner, but he worked his body and barrel to get the ball in the air and to the correct side of the field.
The idea of "launch angle" is silly (not directed at you). The idea of swinging "slightly up" has been around even before Ted Williams. The swing down crowd ruined baseball for 25 years or more. The math is simple in two ways. 1) the pitch is coming down...even the high ones. It makes sense to swing slightly up to increase the length of time the barrel can hit the pitch with force. 2) There are 6 players covering the infield and only 3 in the large expanse of the OF. A player has a much better mathematical chance of hitting the ball in the air (line drive/deep fly ball) and getting on base than hitting a GB.
At some point the game will adjust back to understanding while HR means production, so does moving a runner over with less than 2 outs and getting them in scoring position. While Clint Hurdle may not be the best club manager in baseball, the productive AB list he created many years ago when he was the Hitting Instructor for the Rangers still applies to today's game.
