Adley Rutschman Is Dealing With An Unfair Disadvantage

(Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

As long as there isn’t an automated strike zone in MLB, pitchers and hitters are at risk of being affected by umpire decisions.

The human element means that there will be mistakes here and there.

However, Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has been the most affected batter by wrong strike calls, per Codify Baseball.

“No MLB batter had more out-of-zone pitches called strikes during the first half of this season than Adley Rutschman. 50!” they tweeted.

No MLB batter had more out-of-zone pitches called strikes during the first half of this season than Adley Rutschman. 50! pic.twitter.com/bn9lM9DbgU

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 13, 2023

Rutschman has seen 50 strikes that should have been balls, so imagine how much better his stat line could be.

Spoiler alert: it is already very good for a catcher, at .273/.376/.423 with 12 home runs and a .799 OPS.

It could be much better, though.

That’s one of the issues with having incredible patience and a keen eye at the plate: umpires, inevitably, will make a costly mistake that will have a huge effect on the count and, ultimately, the at-bat.

There is a caveat, though: Rutschman can’t really complain too much because when the Orioles are fielding and the other team is at the plate, he is behind it.

In fact, Rutschman is a fine strike-stealer in his own right.

With his excellent framing skills, he is known to turn balls into strikes, fooling the umpire and benefitting his team.

It’s a street that goes both ways, and that’s why you probably won’t see Rutschman arguing too much with umpires.

He knows he is on the other side of the ball, too.

Well, that, and the fact he is one of the nicest guys in baseball at the moment.

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