Nice read.
In an era of waiting for 3 run homeruns, it's refreshing to see a team play station to station, create runs baseball. Hitting homers isn't the only way to score 4-5-6 runs. A walk, bunt and single can score a run.
If you don't have 4-5 guys throughout the lineup who can legit hit 30+ homers and drive the gaps you best play some small ball.
Today you have everybody thinking about launch angle. That's great for the true power hitter, but not so much for the other players. Today you have plenty of player who hit 20 or so homers but in doing so it costs 25 points on their batting average, so they hit 260 rather than 285.
A few studies have been made. The one I reference was by Ron Polk who coached at Mississippi State for many years. One of the best managers ever.
If a player hit nothing but ground balls. Everything from a bunt to a hot smash on the ground, the player would hit 300. If a player hit nothing but fly balls, everything from a weak foul ball pop-up to the catcher to looping single or the longest home run ever seen, you would hit 250.
If you hit nothing but line drives.. Anything from that liner that is caught by the 3rd baseman or that shot that never gets much over 20 feet high that is caught or just barely clears the fence, a player would hit 750.
It's pretty clear that line drives and ground balls is the way to play the game except when you are trying to lift the ball to allow a runner to tag, in which case it's a sac fly and doesn't count against your average. Except for the true power guys, this launch angle stuff is ruining hitters.
| 
