Earlier today, we took a look at how Busch Stadium III suppresses power-hitting.The Cardinals were a potent offensive ball club in 2013 despite calling Busch III home. So I thought we should see how individual Cardinals' 2013 home and away splits broke down.
This post will focus on those regulars who notched the most plate appearances last season, and exclude those 2013 Cardinals who have moved on to other clubs for 2014 as well as those who I think are unlikely to break spring training with St. Louis. So I did not include Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Pete Kozma, or bench players like Shane Robinson or Daniel Descalso. We'll start with the leadoff man.
MATT CARPENTER
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
354 |
112 |
30 |
4 |
6 |
.360 |
.432 |
.540 |
.972 |
.180 |
.423 |
179 |
Total |
717 |
199 |
55 |
7 |
11 |
.318 |
.392 |
.481 |
.873 |
.163 |
.381 |
147 |
Road |
363 |
87 |
25 |
3 |
5 |
.276 |
.353 |
.422 |
.775 |
.146 |
.340 |
116 |
I think it's fair to say that Matt Carpenter is capable of hitting in any environment. Under water, on Mars, in Busch III, it doesn't matter. Carpenter hits. And he really rapped the ball around Busch III last year, bucking any overall trend toward batting suppression the jackbooted stadium might have displayed.
MATT HOLLIDAY
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
289 |
78 |
17 |
0 |
14 |
.318 |
.419 |
.559 |
.978 |
.241 |
.420 |
178 |
Total |
602 |
156 |
31 |
1 |
22 |
.300 |
.389 |
.490 |
.879 |
.190 |
.383 |
148 |
Road |
313 |
78 |
14 |
1 |
8 |
.284 |
.361 |
.429 |
.790 |
.145 |
.348 |
121 |
Matt Holliday is a very big man capable of hitting a baseball very hard. This was especially true last season at Busch III, where Holliday was otherworldly. When playing in front of the Cardinal faithful, Holliday hit for both average and power. Lots of power. It appears that Busch III's run environment can be overcome by Popeye forearms.
ALLEN CRAIG
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
255 |
76 |
15 |
1 |
2 |
.336 |
.396 |
.438 |
.834 |
.102 |
.365 |
139 |
Total |
563 |
160 |
29 |
2 |
13 |
.315 |
.373 |
.457 |
.830 |
.142 |
.363 |
135 |
Road |
308 |
84 |
14 |
1 |
11 |
.298 |
.354 |
.472 |
.826 |
.174 |
.362 |
131 |
Torty's master didn't show much sprinkle power at Busch III last season. In fact, his offensive profile held true to Busch III"s park factors. Craig hit for far less power in St. Louis than he did on the road, as evidenced by a 72-point ISO gap. What Craig lacked in power, he made up for with a higher average at Busch III that pushed his home wOBA just over what it was on the road despite the power disparity.
YADIER MOLINA
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
243 |
72 |
21 |
0 |
5 |
.312 |
.346 |
.468 |
.813 |
.156 |
.353 |
131 |
Total |
541 |
161 |
44 |
0 |
12 |
.319 |
.359 |
.477 |
.836 |
.158 |
.362 |
134 |
Road |
298 |
89 |
23 |
0 |
7 |
.325 |
.369 |
.485 |
.855 |
.161 |
.370 |
136 |
Yadier Molina played a bit more often on the road in 2013 and hit a bit better during away games. Molina hit for a road BA that was 13 points higher than at Busch III and slugged for an away ISO that was five points higher than in St. Louis. The end result is a road wOBA 17 points higher than it was at home.
MATT ADAMS
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
163 |
44 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
.289 |
.337 |
.533 |
.870 |
.243 |
.377 |
148 |
Total |
319 |
84 |
14 |
0 |
17 |
.284 |
.335 |
.503 |
.839 |
.220 |
.365 |
136 |
Road |
156 |
40 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
.278 |
.333 |
.472 |
.806 |
.194 |
.352 |
124 |
Matt Adams was unfazed by Busch III. Big Mayo hit the majority of his dingers at Busch III. As a result, his home ISO was comfortably higher at home. Adams also posted a wOBA at Busch III that was 25 points above what it was during away games.
JON JAY
Split |
PA |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
ISO |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
Home |
301 |
75 |
15 |
1 |
2 |
.286 |
.358 |
.374 |
.732 |
.088 |
.326 |
112 |
Total |
628 |
151 |
27 |
2 |
7 |
.276 |
.351 |
.370 |
.721 |
.095 |
.319 |
104 |
Road |
327 |
76 |
12 |
1 |
5 |
.266 |
.344 |
.367 |
.711 |
.101 |
.314 |
98 |
Jon Jay is a singles hitter who has posted an Isolated Power (ISO) of .095 each of the last two seasons. Busch III's kryptonite saps power. Since Jay doesn't have much to sap, Busch III didn't treat him harshly in 2013. Even though Jay hit for a bit more power on the road, his home BA exceeded his away BA by enough points to make his Busch III wOBA 12 points higher than his away wOBA.
###
While Busch III may have developed into a power-suppressing hitting environment overall, this effect was not felt equally by the individual Cardinals batters. Some, like Holliday, bucked the trend and hit for far more power at home than on the road. Others, such as Craig, posted offensive lines that were directly in line with Busch III's park factors. It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals fare when batting at home in 2014.