Damon's Platoon Power
David Pinto | Friday, September 30, 2011 at 5:48PM Johnny Damon of the Tampa Bay Rays homered against LHP C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers in the second inning of Game one of the ALCS. Wilson gives up very few home runs to left-handed batters, but Damon would be one that might give him trouble. Left-handers worked Damon away during the regular season this year:
Johnny Damon, pitch frequency from left-handed pitchers, 2011.Damon crushed the inside mistakes.
Johnny Damon, slugging vs. LHP, 2011.Wilson, on the other hand, has one spot where lefties go deep:
C.J. Wilson, slugging by LHB, 2011.Watching on TV, it looked like Damon and Wilson split the difference here. The pitch was middle in , and Damon was able to pull it down the line for a home run. Thirty eight percent of Damon's home runs came against LHP this season, despite seeing only 29% of his plate appearances against lefties. Southpaws have no platoon advantage against Johnny.