Hamstringing Hamilton

The Giants used a two pronged approach to shut down Josh Hamilton in the World Series.  Looking at where in the strike zone Hamilton collected hits during the 2010 season (throught the ALCS), his great plate coverage becomes clear:

Josh Hamilton, batting average heat chart and movement, 2010 season through the ALCS.The low outside corner is the only place you might really get Josh.  Note also that Hamilton likes the ball moving towards him.  The Giants not only hit the low outside corner, their pitches didn't move in on Hamilton as much.

Josh Hamilton, pitch frequency and movement, 2010 World SeriesThe Giants weren't perfect, as they did put some pitches on the inside part of the plate, right where Josh usually owns a high in-play average.    Without the movement toward him, however, Josh got fooled a litte more often.