KEEPERS: Postmortem—2018 takeaways, part II

In Part I of our 2018 postmortem, we looked at surges in strikeouts and bullpen use. We conclude our look back with some focus on some offensive numbers and issues. 

Batting averages plunge.  Obviously the flip side of the increase in hard-throwing pitchers and soaring strikeouts. MLB's collective BA plunged from .255 in 2017 to .248 in 2018, the lowest MLB BA in 48 seasons. Longer term, the general trend has been down since the turn of the century, when hitters collectively batted .270 (in 2000), a mark which hasn't been reached since. And now for the first time in MLB history, there were fewer hits than strikeouts in a single season—as well as an all-time low number of batted balls put into play. Anecdotally, just 16 qualifying MLB...

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