Lost Balls
David Pinto | Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 3:40PM The Florida Marlins saw a series of home games moved to Seattle today due to a concert. This move may actually help the Marlins, since over the last three seasons they produced a higher run differential on the road than at home.
| Season | Home Run Differential | Road Run Differential |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | -0.46 | 0.001 |
| 2009 | 0.17 | 1.04 |
| 2010 | 0.14 | 0.23 |
The difference is small, but what really caught my eye when I looked at the data was the lack of walks in games away from Sun Life Stadium. Marlins batters, over the three year period, drew 101 fewer walks away, but knocked out 105 more hits. That led to a higher BA, but a lower OBP.
The same was true of Marlins pitchers, with 84 fewer walks issued in home games over that period, while allowing 129 more hits. Again, they gave up a higher BA, but a lower OBP. I would guess that players may see the ball better away from Miami. That way, they are more prone to swing at a border line pitch on the road, getting more hits. It will be interesting to see if this changes as they move into a new stadium.
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