Jeff Francoeur By Count

Ron Darling apparently tried to compliment new Met Jeff Francoeur during tonight’s game by mentioning his .337 career batting average when he puts the first pitch of an at bat into play.  Here is Jeff Francoeur’s career average when he puts a ball into play broken down by the count, along with the 2009 National League averages in those situations.

Count	Francoeur AVG	League AVG
First Pitch	.337	.325
1-0	.323	.340
2-0	.325	.374
3-0	.500 (in only 2 AB)	.436
0-1	.299	.315
1-1	.351	.327
2-1	.410	.333
3-1	.373	.333
0-2	.134	.147
1-2	.159	.166
2-2	.223	.189
3-2	.188	.236

A few points:

• Darling’s point about Francoeur swinging at the first pitch is not impressive.  His average in that situation is not significantly different than the league average and it fails to account for all of the times he swings AND MISSES.  His subsequent average (after reaching an 0-1 count) is .231, so that needs to be factored in. The league average after reaching an 0-1 count is .229. This is why swinging at the first pitch is a bad idea
• Overall, Francoeur’s career batting average for each possible count doesn’t appear to vary significantly from the league average.
• That is to say that Francoeur does not appear to derive any benefit (more than the average NL hitter) in swinging at the first pitch. In fact, just like most major leaguers, he flourishes when ahead in the count and struggles when behind in the count.
• The fact that Francoeur hits well when he gets ahead in the count is yet another argument against his overly-aggressive approach at the plate.

Sorry…. despite the run production he’s brought to the Mets (16 RBI in 14 games), I’m still not a believer.  This is a guy who has just ONE walk in those 16 games, and that was an intentional walk (right before Tatis’ grand slam earlier this week).  In fact, that was the only time Francoeur has seen a 3-0 count as a Met.  Did I mention that I’m still not a believer in Jeff Francoeur.  Because I’m not (just so you know).