Stat Proves Steven Kwan Is Facing A Disadvantage

Many baseball fans have clamored for robot umpires to take over games and minimize the number of missed calls.

Some fans are more traditionalists and prefer the human element of the umpire, but there is an increasingly large portion of the fan base that prefers the automated strike zone.

He isn’t quoted as having a preference, but one has to think that Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan likely prefers the automated zone.

Among left-handed hitters, nobody has been more frequently affected by missed calls than him since making his MLB debut in early 2022.

“Most called strikes against left-handed MLB batters on outside out-of-zone pitches, last two regular seasons: Steven Kwan, 106 <—- led MLB both years; Anthony Rizzo, 75; Bryson Stott, 69; Mike Yastrzemski, 69; Adley Rutschman, 69; Kyle Schwarber, 68,” Codify Baseball tweeted.

Most called strikes against left-handed MLB batters on outside out-of-zone pitches, last two regular seasons:

Steven Kwan, 106 <—- led MLB both years
Anthony Rizzo, 75
Bryson Stott, 69
Mike Yastrzemski, 69
Adley Rutschman, 69
Kyle Schwarber, 68

cc: @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/n3fDBIJrR5

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 30, 2024

That ranking is bonkers: not only is Kwan first, but he is abnormally far from the pack.

The second-ranked Rizzo and the sixth-ranked Schwarber are separated by seven missed calls of this kind: balls being called as strikes.

The difference between Kwan and Rizzo?

31!

Something is clearly going on, because you can lead the league one year, but two in a row?

It’s hard to dismiss as luck or randomness.

In two full seasons as a major leaguer, Kwan has hit .282/.356/.384 with a .739 OPS.

Imagine if the umpires were moderately competent with him at the plate or if the league decided to implement robot umpires: he could be closer to the .760-.780 OPS range and his OBP, which is already good, could be great.