The Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies are squaring off in another edition of the MLB World Series.
The series is currently tied 1-1 after Philadelphia took Game 1 on Friday and the Astros answered with a 5-2 win on Saturday.
Houston is still seen as the favorite, but it’s becoming evident that the Phillies have the weapons to inflict some damage, too.
The series actually boasts an attractive duel of sluggers.
Take a look at this ranking:
We've got a lot of power in this #WorldSeries.
(MLBStats x @GoogleCloud) pic.twitter.com/4H2wSx2oNQ
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 31, 2022
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge predictably led all hitters in barrel percentage, but the second and third-ranked batters surely look familiar, right?
The Kings Of The Barrel
Yes: Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies are right up there among the leaders.
For reference, a barrel represents ideal contact made by an MLB hitter.
To barrel a ball, a batter has to hit it at a certain exit velocity of at least 98 mph, and at a certain launch angle.
A launch angle over 70 degrees, for example, will usually result in a popup; while a 2 degrees angle will likely be a harmless ground ball.
Barrels are usually between 20 and 30 degrees.
Here is a better explanation of barrels, by the league’s official site.
Barrel rate helps us paint a picture about how frequently a hitter barrels the ball.
To get this stat, take the number of barrels a hitter had and divide it by the number of balls that hitter put in play.
Alvarez and Schwarber not always make contact (particularly Schwarber, because Alvarez is an elite all-around hitter), but good things happen when they do hit it.
Just ask the Seattle Mariners, the Atlanta Braves, or the San Diego Padres.
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