This is the third part of an observation of how NPB’s hitting populations are different from how they are in the majors.
After Tom Tango (@tangotiger) commented that the populations of left-handed and right-handed hitters in MLB are essentially the same when batting with the platoon advantage since 2011, I began looking at NPB that way, comparing performances only with the platoon advantage.
In the previous studies, I excluded foreign hitters, switch hitters and pitchers (sorry Shohei). To get a broader look at how MLB and NPB compare left to right, I’ve included everyone.
Big numbers
| Org. | LHB+ PA | RHB+ PA | LHB+ Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPB | 233,586 | 286,969 | 44.9 |
| MLB | 629,795 | 846,835 | 42.7 |
The table below show how similar MLB’s left- and right-handed hitting populations are with the platoon advantage since 2011. Right across the board, the slash lines for hitters with platoon advantages are about as close as you can get.
MLB LHB, RHB with platoon advantage, 2011-2018
| PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HBP | SF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHB+ | 286,427 | 256,019 | 66,606 | 13,737 | 1,196 | 8,316 | 24,652 | 56,712 | .260 | .328 | .421 | .748 | 1,923 | 1,856 |
| LHB+ | 511,532 | 454,808 | 117,171 | 23,608 | 2,972 | 14,271 | 47,033 | 99,412 | .258 | .330 | .417 | .747 | 3,672 | 3,305 |
While the home run frequency in NPB is significantly lower all around, it is particularly obvious among batters swinging from the left side of the plate. The isolated power (slugging average minus batting average) of RHBs and switch hitters vs LHP is .139. For LHBs and switch hitters vs RHP, the isolated power is .111.
NPB LHB, RHB with platoon advantage, 2011-2018
| PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HBP | SF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHB+ | 91,494 | 80,286 | 20,422 | 3,765 | 298 | 2,279 | 7,779 | 16,373 | .254 | .323 | .394 | .717 | 667 | 521 |
| LHB+ | 177,531 | 156,917 | 40,997 | 6,792 | 980 | 2,868 | 14,934 | 30,842 | .261 | .329 | .372 | .700 | 1,281 | 968 |
Playing the percentages
The following table shows how left-handed hitters with a platoon edge compare percentage-wise with right-handed hitters. The categories are: Singles, doubles, triples and home runs as a percentage of hits, strikeouts as a percentage of plate appearances, and at-bats per home run.
MLB percentages
| MLB | 1B pct | 2B pct | 3B pct | HR pct | K pct | HR rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHB+ | .65 | .21 | .018 | .125 | .198 | 30.8 |
| LHB+ | .65 | .20 | .025 | .122 | .194 | 31.9 |
NPB percentages
| NPB | 1B pct | 2B pct | 3B pct | HR pct | K pct | HR rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHB+ | .690 | .184 | .015 | .112 | .179 | 35.2 |
| LHB+ | .741 | .166 | .024 | .070 | .174 | 54.7 |
