To Pinch-Hit or Not to Pinch-Hit? That is the Question

The Royals are dead last in the major leagues this season in using a pinch hitter (only 20 pinch hitter at bats). That is nothing new. The Royals have been last in pinch-hit plate appearances five years running and this season will likely make it six straight.

However, a recent Royals pinch hitter, Lucas Duda, mashed a pinch-hit home run against the Atlanta Braves, helping the Royals win a game. After that dinger, the Royals are now eighth in the major leagues in pinch-hitting slugging percentage! But Yost rarely uses a pinch hitter, even in key situations - like a runner in scoring position and Billy Hamilton coming up to the plate. Hamilton is hitting .208 on the year in such situations, yet Yost has allowed him to have 64 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position. He usually flailed and failed. In Yost’s defense, there weren’t great options on the bench.

Perhaps Yost will look to deploy a pinch hitter more often after the Duda home run in Atlanta. A manager sends a pinch hitter to the plate with the assignment to get a key hit or, at the least, to get on base and extend an inning. The top seven American league teams with the highest OBP for pinch hitters, all have a .500 or better winning record.

Also, the top seven American League teams in terms of pinch-hitting plate appearances all have winning records except for Baltimore, which leads the American league with 72 pinch-hitting plate appearances. Obviously, just sending up a lot of pinch hitters isn’t the secret, but it is a strategic part of the game that winning teams often use successfully.

Not using a pinch hitter much worked in the 2015 championship season. Now with Hamilton primarily on the bench, should the Royals use a pinch hitter more often during the rest of the season?