Fly balls or grounders

With all things being equal (defensively, quality and size of field, etc) I would prefer the groundball pitcher because I still have yet to see a groundball go over the fence.

However, all things are not always equal. If I played in a big yard with an outfield of guys who could really go get it and a comparably worse infield, then I'd prefer the fly ball pitchers.

On the other hand, if I had a solid infield (and a well groomed infield hopefully) I'd prefer the groundball pitcher, especially if the park tends to be hitter friendly.

Both can work. The key is for a pitcher to recognize what he does best and take advantage of it. What is important is not to give up line drives.

To me this is why statistics can be misleading unless there is more knowledge to go on. Does he get fly balls that are elevated fastballs being hit to shallow outfield or on the infield? Does he tend to throw higher and and are they hitting high flies to medium to deep outfield positions. There is a big difference. Are some of the hitters out in front of change-ups and popping them up? All things to consider. If he is putting it where he wants and they are not hitting it hard, he is doing well. I would work on being able to hit spots low in the zone to be able to induce a ground ball when needed.

Good post, hsbc.

You won't get very many doubleplays with a flyball pitcher. Also, playing your infield in with a runner on 3rd won't help if the batter hits a sac fly. Groundball pitcher is preferred in my opinion. Throw a 2 seam with runners on.

That would get rather predictable...