3AM is the Best in Baseball
There has been a lot of debate over the status of Kris Bryant. Is he a superstar, is he on the cusp, or is he just below that superstar category? Well, the answer should be freaking easy – he’s a legitimate superstar. In fact, he and Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout are the only two players in baseball with a WAR above 6.0 in each of the last three seasons. If that doesn’t warrant superstar status, I don’t know what does.
But, that’s not why you called. We all know of Kris Bryant’s greatness, but did you know that Tommy La Stella is the best in baseball in a particular category?
Yes, Tommy, or 3AM as some call him, is the league leader in pinch hits with 21.
Tommy has a phenomenal approach at the plate, rarely swinging at pitches out of the zone (31.0% O-Swing %) and a high capacity for making contact (83.7%), especially in the zone (94.3%), is a huge reason for his pinch-hitting success. But it all starts with an approach.
“He has such an old-school swing,” Maddon said. “He’s tension free. He’s flat through the zone. He doesn’t try to lift anything. He’s got a good eye. He’ll work a count.
“He’s unique in a lot of ways, meaning he’s not into the launch angles. He’s not trying to power the ball. He’s into using the whole field. He’s got a great base and doesn’t over think it.”
His ability to use the entire field is what makes his approach special – especially in today’s pull happy, home run world that is Major League Baseball. The ability to keep his swing easy, not complicating hitting with advanced super metrics, and just getting barrels to baseballs sets him apart from a lot of hitters – especially left-handers.
Tommy is starting and leading off Monday’s make-up game, ironically against the Atlanta Braves, which may have had a lot of influence on his current approach at the plate. In fact, Braves hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer had a similar hitting profile as Tommy does from when he played. A near .300 career hitter that never had much pop, walked at an 11% clip and struck out at a remarkable 10.2% clip. This is also something he has instilled upon the young Braves roster which has scored the most runs in the National League this season.
La Stella won’t play as much as Seitzer did, but his one or two plate appearances per game have been incredibly important for the Cubs this season. When the Cubs are looking for that all-important hit at the end of a close game, Joe and the rest of Cubs fans can be confident that when TLS steps up to the plate, it’s very likely that he gets on base.
