Numbers reflect baseball 'Bows' ups, downs
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
With nearly a quarter of the season in the books, it's time to look at the Hawai'i baseball team by the numbers.
Let's not waste time because the Rainbows (6-7) are quick to finish these days. If it appears that UH games are moving along faster than last year, you're not imagining it. Even taking into account three extra-inning games to one during the same period last season, a Rainbow game this season is 13 minutes shorter.
At this time last year, a UH game averaged 3 hours, 4 minutes; this year it is 2:51.
Why are UH games moving at a faster pace? Check the pitching.
After four series last year, UH pitchers averaged 157 pitches per game in their first 12 games. This year, after 13 games (a four-game series with Florida State accounts for the extra game) the Rainbows average 142 pitches per game. The 15-pitch difference is about an inning's worth of throws.
The pitch reduction reflects in the Rainbows' walks per nine innings average, which is at a Western Athletic Conference-low 2.76. That's down from last year's 3.60, which was fourth in the league and below the league average of 3.36.
This all fits into UH coach Mike Trapasso's philosophy of pitchers "forcing contact," or letting the defense make the plays. He wants his pitchers to throw two of their first three pitches for strikes. The Rainbows have done that or got the batter to put the ball in play within three pitches 80 percent of the time this season.
"Pitching's been a pleasant surprise," Trapasso said. "We've thrown better than I thought we would and I really think that's because we don't walk people. We make our pitchers use the defense."
More evidence of forced contact this year is that UH pitchers' three-ball counts are down 4 percent from last year.
Trapasso also emphasizes to his pitchers to keep their pitches down. The result has been 1.46 ground-ball outs to air outs; the ratio is nearly 2-1 when you discount infield pop outs. Last year's ground out/fly out ratio was 1.26.
The pitchers are benefitting from good defense. Unlike last year, when the Rainbows finished sixth in the then seven-team WAC with a .959 fielding percentage, this year's squad is tied for the conference lead with Rice at .971.
"Defensively, I always thought we'd be a good club," Trapasso said.
But when it comes to offense, the Rainbows could use a little work. They are fourth in the WAC in batting at .278, below the conference average of .291. Even worst, they are last in the most important category: runs. Hawai'i is the only team averaging fewer than five runs per game; the WAC average is 6.88.
The league averages 40.2 extra-base hits per team; UH has only 25 extra-base hits.
"We need to do a better job of getting the timely hit, getting the hit when the bases are loaded, getting the hit when there are two outs," Trapasso said. "We always tell our guys, two-out hits are what wins games. Two-outs hits are what wins championships. We need to do a better job of that. I think we need to be a little more aggressive, but controlled aggression offensively."
Not all of the numbers are traced to what happens on the field. It seems the Rainbows could use some help in the stands, too.
Are you hearing a different attendance figure at the 4,312-seat Les Murakami Stadium than what you are reading in this newspaper?
The athletic department announces at the game the number of tickets issued, which includes tickets bought, sold through season ticket sales or were complimentary. The number you read in The Advertiser is the announced turnstile count. The greatest disparity between the two figures came Feb. 8 against Sacramento State, when 2,284 tickets were issued with a reported turnstile count of 600.
The average difference between tickets issued and turnstile count this season is 1,355 no-shows.
