Tom Brennan - PETE ALONSO BY THE STRIKE COUNT

Baseball Reference has some nifty split #'s for players.

During yesterday's article on Big Pete Alonso, it again became remarkable how poorly hitters can do when a hitting count gets to 2 strikes.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the breakdown for Pete of how he hits when his at bat ends on no strikes, one strike, and two strikes:

On Zero Strikes:

199 PA, 164 AB, 62 Hits, 7 Doubles, 24 HRs, 50 RBIs, .378

On One Strike:

244 PA, 206 AB, 69 Hits, 15 Doubles, 22 HRs, 48 RBIs, .335

On Two Strikes:

489 PA, 435 AB, 72 Hits, 14 Doubles, 23 HRs. 57 RBIs, .166.  50% of those PAs ended in Ks.

Pretty glaring picture of the performance penalty of Pete allowing pitch counts to get to 2 strikes.

Easier said than done, but it sure seems if he can up the % of at bats ending with zero strikes or 1 strike, he can be a better hitter.

They do have a stat on whether Pete took or swung at a first pitch; those numbers to me didn't look accurate, so I will pass on that.

On at bats ending on the first pitch, though, which can obviously only be a hit, error, or HBP, his plate appearances have only ended on the first pitch 101 times out of 932 career plate appearances.  

When they do, the results are superb: .366/.416/.892

Of course, counts can get to 2 strikes when you are not taking pitches, when you swing and miss at, or foul off, pitches.

I did not analyze how other hitters do in the same situations, except that yesterday I noted that while Pete hits .166 after 2 strikes, Jeff McNeil hits a much higher .244 after 2 strikes.

But if I were Pete, the above numbers tell me to be more aggressive at hitting early strikes and trying to avoid getting deep into counts.

Put your "Chili Davis" hat on.  What do they tell you?