In Which Counts Do the Top Sluggers Go Deep Most Often?

By Thom Henninger

For a hitter, getting ahead in the count provides an opportunity to look for a certain pitch or to narrow the strike zone and look for a pitch in a certain location. Theoretically, the best counts for a power-hitter are 2-0 and 3-1.

So, do today’s sluggers tee off most frequently when they are in a hitter’s count? Let’s take a look at the top eight major league regulars in slugging percentage since the start of the 2007 season. It turns out that a few of them aren’t getting into hitter’s counts all that often before going deep.

Top 8 in Slugging since 2007
Pct of HR in 2-0 & 3-1 Counts

*HR in 2-0, 3-1 counts

The two Brewers, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, have been the least likely to homer in 2-0 and 3-1 counts, and just two of Braun’s 110 career home runs have come in those counts. It’s also worth noting that Albert Pujols has homered six times in 3-0 counts, so he’s stroked 11.8 percent of his career homers in those three hitter’s counts. None of the others have gone deep more than twice in 3-0 situations.

Perhaps most telling about the notion that hitter’s counts don’t seem to matter to these guys is their propensity to pound the first pitch for home runs. Seven of these eight slugging leaders have hit more home runs on the first pitch than in any other count.

Top 8 in Slugging since 2007
Pct of HR on First Pitch of AB

Pujols stands alone as far as hitting the most home runs on the first pitch, He has 54 in 1-1 counts, his highest total, though that’s only one more than he’s hit on the first pitch of an at-bat.

Tagged as: Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard