Our grandfathers told us to ‘hit it where they ain’t’ referring to the fielders.
Our fathers said, ‘Hit it over the fielders.’
Right now, it’s more like ‘pull the ball in the air,’ and good things will happen.
Statistically, it has been proven that putting the ball in the air is the ideal type of contact.
It leads to hard-hit balls much more often, and this results in better outcomes: doubles, home runs, and all the good stuff.
Analyst Mike Petriello explained that Baseball Savant is now introducing this leaderboard to illustrate who pulled the ball in the air most often, who led the circuit in ground balls to the opposite field, to the pull side, and more.
Cleveland Guardians analyst Justin Lada shed light on the fact the team has an expert in the science of pulling fly balls.
“Should come as no surprise #1 for the Guardians on this list is Jose Ramirez (8th overall in baseball last year in pulled balls in the air). Also probably important – Carlos Santana at 17. Shockingly 3rd maybe – David Fry (25th overall). Probably a big key to his 2024 breakout,” he posted on X.
Should come as no surprise #1 for the Guardians on this list is Jose Ramirez (8th overall in baseball last year in pulled balls in the air).
Also probably important – Carlos Santana at 17
Shockingly 3rd maybe – David Fry (25th overall). Probably a big key to his 2024 breakout https://t.co/5vN25PKw8r
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) March 21, 2025
Ramirez is a small guy.
He does have some raw power and is very strong, but it’s not common to see a guy with his build hit 35-40 homers every year.
He achieved this by making the most out of his batted balls.
How did he do that? By swinging hard and lifting the ball in the air to the pull side.
Bingo.
Fry tried it last year and it yielded an All-Star season and 14 home runs in 392 trips to the plate.
Now, you can track the leaders of this specific, but very useful stat and spot potential breakout performances.
NEXT: Guardians Get Infielder Back From The Braves
