Sarris: Q&A with Joey Votto on swinging more

From SABR member Eno Sarris at The Athletic on March 8, 2018:

Last year, Joey Votto almost broke a record. Nothing to do with homers, or walks, or value, or with homers, or walks, or value by a batter over 33. Nothing to do with results at all, actually.

Last year, Joey Votto had the second-highest zone swing minus reach rate among qualified batters since we started tracking the stat in 2008. Maybe that statement doesn't wow. It's a bit of a mouthful. But considering that we're talking about the ability of a batter to swing at strikes and not swing at balls, it's obviously important to baseball success.

Therefore it's impressive that the guy that knows the zone better than anyone, the guy who's as famous for not swinging as much as he's is for swinging, started to swing at more strikes last year, and paired that with his best stretch of not swinging at balls.

Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/263464/2018/03/08/qa-joey-votto-on-swinging-more/