Grounding Into Double Plays …the mark of a great hitter?

WAIT! Before you crucify me… what do Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Tony Gwynn, Stan Musial, Jim Rice, Cal Ripken, Joe Torre, Dave Winfield and Carl Yastrzemski all have in common?

Each is a Hall of Famer and led the major leagues in grounding into double plays over the course of a season. With the exception of Clemente, all led in GIDP multiple times.

The list below is the ranking of players on the career GIDP list. The first number to the right of their name indicates how many times they led major league baseball in GIDP in a season.

Hall of Famer            # Times Lead League          Career Ranking

Cal Ripken                                 3                                         1st

Hank Aaron                               4                                         3rd

Carl Yastrzemski                       2                                          4th

Dave Winfield                           2                                          5th

Jim Rice                                      4                                          6th

Joe Torre                                    2                                         15th

Roberto Clemente                    1                                         20th

Tony Gwynn                            2                                         26th

Stan Musial                              3                                        37th

Grounding into double plays is the mark of a good hitter

How can that be?

Most, if not all, are middle of the order guys, counted on to drive runs in, who come up with runners on base more often (keep in mind even the best players make outs 7 out of 10 times).

They hit the ball hard more often (a hard hit ball is an important factor in recording a GIDP). Keep in mind that the harder a ground ball is hit, the better the chance that it gets through the infield for a base hit.

Unfortunately there is no stat for ‘Hard Hit Ground Balls that almost became GIDP, but instead become base hits (and likely drive in runs a fair amount of the time).

Why did I write this? Because, from time to time I see GIDP expressed as a negative stat. Each box score lists the player(s) who Ground Into a Double Play, which implies they did something wrong.

A better stat in the daily box score might be one that credits pitchers for the number of GIDP they induce. This indicates a pitcher’s ability to work the ball down in zone and get sink on their pitches when runners are on base.

The batter’s job is to go up there and hit the ball hard. Let’s not forget that batting is the most unfair prospect in sports; its nine against one.

Lower Batting Averages for These Star Players

Exacerbating the unfair circumstances of coming to bat with runners on, which leads to high GIDP totals, is the fact that batting more often with runners on base has an adverse effect on Batting Average. Consider when a ball is scorched up the middle or to the left side of the infield and a defensive player makes a great diving play and knocks the ball down. With no runners on base, the batter has a chance of beating a throw to first and get an infield hit. With runners on base, infielders have a closer base (Second) to get a force out.

That play, a Fielder’s Choice, goes against the batter’s average. It is not significant, but over the course of a season, such a circumstance can cost such a player three or four points, which could be the difference in winning a batting title or finishing above .300 …coming up with runners on a lot of the time can have its down side.

Maybe GIDP is a positive stat to look for in a ballplayer. Something to keep in mind when evaluating prospects for your Fantasy Team.