Billy, his name is Kyle Schwerber. He’s overweight, slow, bad at defense, and he’s constantly among the league leaders in strikeouts…but he gets on base

I'm OK with the trend of having on base be more important for the leadoff spot. But in an overall sense I want to see baseball play a lot faster and be less "three outcome" focused.

Had to do a double take on that title cause i thought "Wait what does that austrian painter have to do with baseball"

STEVEN KWAN HAS GOT IT GOIN' ON.

These videos are so damn good. Absolutely love how he is able to pick things apart and then put them back together so it makes more sense. 👨🏻‍🍳

Putting Ricky Hendersons picture up when you say "what was important in the past is drifting away" is quite silly. He had a career .401 OBP and if you take out his rookie season and his last 4 seasons his OBP was even better over the heart of his career. Ricky was exactly what you are talking about here as an ideal leadoff man with the same cherry on top that Acuna has. If he was in his prime today he'd be leading off, not because of his stolen bases, but his consistently fat OBP (297 HR doesn't hurt either).

I’m I the only one that thought it said adof hitler

yo this video is fantastic keep up the good work i hope your channel blows up and you get the recognition you deserve!

I think it makes a ton of sense. Most of the traditional lead off hitters aren’t real power threats. A guy like Nico Hoerners gonna get on base just as much as Schwarber despite hitting like 80 points better. What does it matter if it’s a single or a walk if you still got a runner on. Combine that with the power to give the team a lead and shake up the pitcher from the first at bat and it’s a good option.

Very entertaining.. i’m Digging the background music .. Good job .. 👍🏼

Wade Boggs (a slow guy with great OBP) was batting leadoff in the ‘80s (sometimes).

Great video bro, good job 👍

Great video!

Watching Rickey Henderson as a kid, it was quite common for him to lead the game off with a walk, steal of 2nd base, steal of 3rd base and scoring a run with a sacrifice fly. Nothing deflates a starting pitcher more than scoring a quick run without even giving up a hit.

Back in the day the Angels batted Brian Downing leadoff. Lifetime .370 oba. Had pop. Was slow. Wade Boggs was the leadoff hitter in Boston more often than not. Can't say he didn't get on base. And was slow. This is not a new phenomenon. OBA is the single most important stat in hitting. It's a lost art in most respects. Working counts and getting on base. Speed is important too. Ricky Henderson had a undeniable impact on the game. Brett Butler fouling off 12 pitches and walking in his first at bat had a impact on the game. Kenny Lofton... You just have to have a guy that has that ability. And it's lacking in todays game.

Great video. I hadnt quite put together the value of seeing more pitches and hitting dingers from the first spot. After all, a home run is a guaranteed run but getting on base relies on the guys following to get them home. I wont be as upset anymore seeing these sluggers at the top of the lineup

The best option for picking a great leadoff hitter is to get Ricky Henderson. Okay, I guess that's not possible anymore.

How did you make your intro? That was amazing watching the players coming in that way!

i dont recall "the book" saying 1 was the most important, from my memory it said 1, 2 and 4 are where you put your best hitters, but you need different guys in each. if you had 2 guys with the same obp, but one has more home runs, you want the one with more home runs batting second

I like to say Kyle is not batting leadoff, he's batting cleanup for the 7-8-9 hitters. If we do get value out of the 7-8-9 batters, Kyle has a chance to bring them all home with a single swing. On top of that, he gets on base a lot and has a speedy turner behind him who is fast enough to avoid almost all GBDPs. He's technically leading off for inning 1 but is kinda batting 9th for the rest of the game.

I get the more at bats for power hitters who bat lead-off, but they also bat more with the bases empty. Batting in the clean-up spot you get less at bats over the course of a year, but you bat with more people on base.

I'm pretty sure that over the years on base percentage was always valued more for the leadoff hiitter than just considering pure batting average. As far as speed teams don't have any idea how to utilitze a player with base stealing speed anymore. There were so many other factors that a Rickey Henderson or Tim Raines affected when they got on. They disrupted everything on defense from the pitcher to the defensive positions. If a guy gets 30 stolen bags today he's a superstar. That doesn't even sniff the numbers that Henderson could get where in his best season he stole 130 bags. Kyle Schwarber's two seasons at leadoff did NOT produce as many runs as Rickey Henderson did despite the massive HR totals Schwarber racked up. Schwarber is never going to sniff seasons like Henderson where he scored 146 or 130 runs. And if you look at RBIs to compare the two Henderson by correcting (deducting) HRs from Schwarber's totals Henderson's RBI totals also still compare well too. But what the numbers nerds really don't understand is the chaos created by men with speed on the bags and how it affected the overall play back when speed play was utilized. But then again that's why numbers nerds do what they do and aren't athletes that know how to play and win in sport.

Rickey Henderson says, “Rickey is the greatest of all time”

I've been following baseball for 50+ years and I've always considered OBP to be the top priority for lead-off hitters, followed by base-running expertise, and speed itself didn't equal good base-running. Rickey wasn't the fastest runner in the league, but he was IMHO the best baserunner and his career OBP speaks for itself.

Definitely a interesting concept, and is just further proof that batting average means very little. At this point, I view it as a fluff/sparkle stat. Its cool to look at, but it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Just foind this channel , love the content and degails ypu put in the baseball videos

One of the best videos I’ve ever watched, great work

great video!

I feel like George Springer as leadoff for the Astros was a game changer

I'm really curious if there has been an increase in first inning double plays since this change in the role of the lead off hitter.

I know this is a month old but I’d like to point out a few things. First, the stat with RBI+R is very flawed, as home runs count as both an RBI and a run for the player hitting it. You’d have to make a home run only count for one RBI+R, as it’s only 1 run scored and not 2, like it’s counted. Secondly, Trea Turner stated that he cannot steal bases a lot because he’s in front of Harper, and if he steals, then Harper will get walked. You mentioned how his stealing isn’t as valuable with power hitters, but I’d argue that successful stealing is more valuable than given, as it forces the pitcher to adjust his approach to the current batter. I’d rather see Trea Turner leadoff with Schwarber second, as if Schwarber gets intentionally walked, it’s not as big a deal since Harper, Bohm, Castellanos or Realmuto will follow. The numbers don’t agree with my statement, but they don’t have the context we do to see that lineup configuration is a balance between the numbers and the players, with the goal always being run scoring.

I loved having the home run with soler in the 9 hole.

The issue is that these 3 true outcome guys are great over the course of a 162 game season. But sometimes you just need well rounded guys who can get on base in a variety of ways when things tighten up at the end of a playoff series. The Phillies power-first team and lineup construction came back to bite them in games 6 and 7 of the NLCS.

I do like how the Phillies ended up losing both of the series you highlighted with Schwarbs (22 WS, 23 LCS). Funny how you can tell stories with statistics but somehow conveniently omit the most important outcome of all.

Bret Butler , Otis Nixon, Rickey Henderson, these arw leadoff hitters. Dodger's have a Bret Butler type in high A- 1st pick ( there's) Kendall George. Same look size , stance, speed,. attributes etc. Other than pigmentation difference obviously.

I read that your #2 hitter should have the highest wRC+ on the team but from this video it sounds like your best hitter should actually hit leadoff then cleanup with your third best hitter in the 2 spot in the lineup. Am I understanding this correctly?

The Leadoff Hitter figured out than he makes more $$$ if he swings all his might EVERY time (like the PGA) and accidentally hits 20+ Homers.

2:46 "In Chronological Order" would just mean in order of time. Just a minor little nitpick

Bro that title is nuts I really thought Hitler played baseball for a sec

I'm a hardcore analytics/sabermetrics apologist, but I think managers and players need to get back to stealing more bases. The breakeven point is generally 67%, and that's not really hard that to get, and not running enough just doesn't put enough pressure on pitchers. Honestly, I think that avoiding steals is less about sabermetrics, and more about owners wanting to protect their investment and avoiding injuries.

What happened to the clean up hitter also

Speed is a lot more useful for someone in say the 7 spot than the leadoff position. Getting a stolen base, only to have the person behind you hit a double or HR negates the benefit. But going from 1st to 2nd for a slap hitter with no power is going to generate some runs.

Where did you get “who sees most pitches per at bat” stat

Steven Kwan is the ideal leadoff hitter

How is this new? Rickey was getting on base more than anyone else forty years ago

Oh god don’t show me that Clevinger “I just gave up a bomb” squat that flashed me tf back to that game

Makes you wonder if the Giants would have won the 2002 WS if they led off with Barry Bonds 🤔

His name is Steven Kwan

i agree obp is honestly far more important than avg at the leadoff but looking at a team like the phillies, turners obp is that much lower and so having him at 1 and schwarber at 2 feels much more valuable, what goods a leadoff homer when he could hit a 2 run nuke batting second, in most circumstances id agree but schwarber hits way too many bombs that couldve lead to lost rbis

Kyle had an on Base% of nearly .400 last year, 47 homers, 100 RBIs, and 100 BBs. I'm fine with him not hitting .280+

If the ‘08 Phillies were playing today, who do you think would be hitting leadoff?

The problem I ha e with all these analytics is that they all focus on slight advantages over the course of a season like 10 extra potential runs but can anyone point to a single instance where you can say that would actually have made a difference. You cant say the 10 extra runs ever came in a 1 run game. For all you know it's just 10 more runs in blowout wins or losses. And it seems to me that the champ at the end of the year pretty much ranks the same in OBP that they do in BA. Almost like the entire different between their OBP and the rest of the league is that they just hit the ball more. And honestly I think it makes much more sense to build a team around BA because in the playoffs, against elite pitching, you can't rely on getting walks. If I'm in the 9th in the playoffs vs an elite closer I hope my leadoff guy hits .300 rather than be someone who is going to stare at 3 heaters painting the corner.

Well, I can’t speak for every team, but my team’s lead-off hitter led MLB in stolen bases and also won the NL MVP last season. Also he was the first ever 40-70 player.

One huge problem with this.. the 2 teams in the World Series last year play old school baseball. You will see the teams playing old school win in the playoffs more.

As Phils fan this is not aggravating me at all. I look at Runs and OPS by Schwarbs. A double is just as good as a single and a steal. A walk is a s good as a single. Would they be just as well off with Trea at leadoff? Yes, but there is a fear factor for starters who know what Schwarber will do to a mistake. He's such a tone setter (as we have seen in the playoffs).

On base percentage

"Turner could have been an amazing leadoff hitter on another team" we loved him in DC

the lead off spot is 4th highest on this list, not 3rd 5:04

dang 5 spot is more important than 3. That’s crazy

Speed isn’t as important these days because base stealing isn’t as big a part of the game. The new rules have helped a little to bring stealing back but it’s a high risk, low reward play. Not only are you risking an out but you also increase the risk of injury significantly.

I was spoiled growing up with Soriano

イチローは引退会見で次のように述べている 「2001年に僕がアメリカに来てから、この2019年の現在の野球は全く別の違う野球になりました。頭を使わなくてもできてしまう野球になりつつあるような…」 私は日本人ですが、それ以上に一人のMLBファンとして、イチローのような天才的なバットコントロールを持つ選手をまた見てみたい。

It honestly seems like if a guy with a high OBP has a low BA it’s better to put them in the lead off spot so guys that get hits at a higher rate have someone on base.

I’m convinced the fans that are mad are all above the age of 50 or just don’t like math. Baseball is really only interesting because of the analytics otherwise it’s the sport with the most variability of outcome based on pretty much randomness (if you refuse to use analytics)

Steven kwan has something to say

The first time I read the title, I thought it was about a grandson of Hitler or about a guy with a really unfortunate name

Schwarber is hitting .239 this season with an OBP of .367 so he IS getting on base.

When will a manager have the courage to field a team of the vertically challenged?

I thought the guy who leads off is the guy who gets on base most...thought that was always the case...

Ironically, the Nats of all teams are staying true to the old ways with the speedy, high avg CJ Abrams leading off

Jarren Duran. That’s the whole comment.

If you think abput it leadoff is the spot were BA matters LEAST. You will take a lot of at bats with no one on base anyway. So really the OBP should be the more important factor. Now for a 2-4 hitter? Sure you need them to hit for average.

This is why baseball is great. I have often wo dered why the best hitter doesnt hit first. More at bats/game

Wade Boggs use to leadoff

I was using this strategy 10 years ago! (In MLB the show) lol

Why isn’t Harper a better option? He has a higher OBP and usually a better wRC+

He may get on base a ton, but unless the next guy up hits a home run he's not going to score because he's too slow to get around the bases quick enough. I'd rather have a high OBP guy whose also fast in the leadoff spot so he can actually score if the next few hitters put the ball in play. Schwarber should hit cleanup where he can protect Harper and others in the lineup and hit his 40+ home runs with guys on base. THAT would lead to more runs.

This video makes valid points, but give me the leadoff guy with speed and OBP. When he gets on, he can throw the pitcher's focus off with his base stealing threat. Idk how many RBIs Schwarber had in 2023, but i think he wouldve had way more batting behind Turner instead of vice versa. And probably wouldve seen more pitches to hit. But thats just my opinion. Agree to disagree.

.343 OBP%? I guess it's easier for pitchers to sit a batter down when the nerds are telling the batter to swing for the fences on every pitch. Remember .400+ OBPs?

Well, kid me was on to something when I always put Bonds (the fake Bonds since they couldn't use his name) at lead off in all the baseball video games I played

Steven Kwan would like a word…

pitcher 8th is big brain. done that in mlb the show for ever til they added dh

You dont want to know what my brain jumped to when reading that title

Yeah well schwarber make ball go boom

Not everyone is a power hitter. This issue has to, become adressed.

Hate to sound like the "get off my lawn" guy, but i miss the old school leadoff hitter types. To me, they made the game more exciting. Otis Nixon, Kenny Lofton, Vince Coleman, Rickey Henderson, Rafael Furcal, and i could go on forever. Oh, another underrated one was Scott Podsednik. He was good for like a couple years though.

Felt like I was watching money ball when they say they get on base

We have Marcus Saiem

You called him Lance McMullers His name is McCullers

My dude is Steve Kwan can't relate 😂😂

The thing is: Kyle Schwarber does not get on base. His BB% might looker impressive but combined with his extremely low BABIP, he only has a career .339 OBP. And this year, there are 4 guys on the phillies, including now Bryson Stot, who have a higher OBP than him.

Shorten distance to 1B.

This is as much about the 3 true outcome and the hitters eye... if a batter can take pitches & work walks, they are going to be good... Hypothetically billy Hamilton & kyle swarber have the exact same eyes transplanted in. & suddenly billy is taking 5 pitches an AB & all the walks... would you rather have billy or kyle. Bc imma pick billie & his ability to steal 2nd base.. guys like harper still hit more double than they do HR... So its as much about speedy slap hitter guys, not having the same level of strick zone awareness

don't care, still plugging Rickey in at leadoff in Dynasty mode

That's incorrect, average has never truly mattered for a lead-off hitter, only the on base percentage. A good example of this would be someone like JP Crawford, who last year only hit .266, but yet had an OBP of .380 which was 11th best out of qualified hitters last year. But then you look at someone like Bo Bichette who hit .306 which was the 8th highest average in the league, but his .339 OBP pales in comparison to a guy like Crawford who walks well above the major league average, while Bichette walks well below the league average. If you're not on base at a high rate, your chances of stealing bases goes way down. Though someone like Schwarber doesn't hit for a high average most years, his extremely high walk rate has helped him to produce a .339 OBP, which is actually higher than the major league average, thus making him partially acceptable.

Sabermetrics make everyone play the same. That's why. Homers, walks and strikeouts. Homers, walks and strikeouts. Homers, walks and strikeouts.

Luis Arraez is one of the best lead off hitters in baseball

trea turner a “big slugger” now?

i just want my best hitters getting the most PAs

I miss Ricky