Baseball historian Paul Dickson defines a baseball free swinger as "a batter who tends to swing at pitches out of the strike zone; one who will swing at almost any ball pitched to him." Remember that being a free swinger is not necessarily a negative thing, as some players do it well. However, the typical free swinger will not be a very successful hitter.
Bad-Ball Hitter
The modern baseball trend "emphasizes strike-zone discipline, patience and a high on-base percentage," according to Mike Berardino in Baseball Digest. Bad-ball hitters buck this trend and "go up hacking," says Berardino. From the moment a bad-ball hitter steps into the batter's box, he's looking for any pitch he believes he can hit and take a strong swing at it if it's close. This type of free swinger doesn't worry about the strike zone or often if the ball is even over the plate. If he believes it's hittable, he's swinging at it. Period.
Lack of Plate Discipline
A free swinger does not exercise plate discipline or patiently wait for a good pitch to hit. He steps into the batter's box with no real plan for how to approach his current at-bat. He is not selective when it comes to pitch type or location, and he doesn't consider the game's situation -- such as how many outs there are, what the score is, or who is on base -- to the extent that a more disciplined hitter will. A lack of plate discipline often results in a hitter getting behind in the count, which is never a good thing. As Buz Brundage explains on the Be A Better Hitter website, "The pitch count should have a direct impact on each swing you take at the plate. Certain pitch counts favor the hitter and certain ones favor the pitcher." Free swingers regularly end up in unfavorable counts, and therefore see fewer good pitches to hit and increase their chances of recording an out. You must exercise patience and wait for a good pitch to hit, says Brundage.
Low Walk Rate
Free swingers will typically draw a walk less often than other players, simply because they see fewer pitches, end up behind in the count more often, and just have a hard time taking pitches that are close to the strike zone. Drawing walks boosts a hitter's on-base percentage and helps out his team at the same time.
Major League Baseball Free Swingers
Being a free swinger is not necessarily a bad thing. Vladimir Guerrero, a lifetime .319 hitter according to Yahoo! Sports, is one of the game's best free swingers and bad-ball hitters, notes Mike Berardino. Ichiro Suziki, another tremendous player, is a free swinger, but is also selective and smart at the same time, explains David Pinto on BaseballAnalytics.org.
References
- "The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary"; Paul Dickson; 1999
- BNET; Free Swingers: Hitters Such as Vladimir Guerrero and Nomar Garciaparra Concentrate on Putting Ball Into Play; Mike Berardino; 2002
- Be A Better Hitter; The Pitch Count; Buz Brundage
- BaseballAnalytics.org; Is Ichiro Really a Free Swinger?; David Pinto; 2011
- Yahoo Sports!: Vladimir Guerrero
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