It’s the other thing that’s more perplexing. The league-wide strikeout rate has been climbing into unprecedented heights for more than a decade now and has surged ever higher over the past three seasons. Last year, for the first time in league history, Major League catchers recorded more putouts than first basemen did. This year, catchers are recording more than 10% more putouts than first basemen. There are now more strikeouts than groundouts, and first month of Buy MLB18 Stubs the 2018 season was the first in Major League history in which there were more strikeouts than hits.

The prevalence of defensive shifting robs some base hits as well, and league-wide batting average in 2018 is currently at its lowest point in more than 40 years. Combine all that with the uptick in homers in recent seasons, and you have a sport that features far less on-field action than ever before, and a game that increasingly hinges on true outcomes in the batter’s box over the spectacular, thrilling randomness of balls in play.