He is not bad, but Joey Gallo, New York Yankees outfielder, is completely irrelevant in Major League Baseball at the moment. His team is not in the playoffs. He has never played for either of the Championship Series teams. He is at home, watching the games on his couch, just like you and me. So why am I now bringing him up?
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Gallo just had one the most entertaining seasons of StatCast. It was almost lost, but I'm here to ensure it is remembered for the amazing feat it was
Joey Gallo, a qualified MLB hitter, was at the bottom in strikeout percentage in 2021. He was sent back to the dugout via strikes with 34.6 percent. This is a career low for Gallo, despite having 213 total strikeouts. Although he has decreased his strikeout rates in each of the past two seasons, it is still enough to place Gallo in the top one percent of the league. He strikes out so many.
Gallo is one of Major League Baseball's most patient hitters. In 2021, he only hit 40.2 percent of the pitches thrown at him. This ranks him eighth among Major League hitters who have at least 400 plate appearances. He must strike out a lot if he doesn't swing much but hits a lot. You fool! You fool! Gallo was among 33 major-leaguers who saw at least 400 plate appearances last season and were able to see strikes less that 40 percent of the times. Gallo was at the bottom of this list with a rate 39.9%. The question is still: How could someone who doesn't swing often and doesn't see many strikeouts, strikeout so often. Maybe he chases pitches. It's a good idea, but it is still not true.
Joey Gallo was ranked in MLB's 99th percentile in walk rate for 2021. He was not only the American League's leader in this category but also walked more than 99 percent of qualified Major League hitters. This earned him 111 free passes during the season. Gallo never let his bat touch his shoulder when the pitch was out of the zone. Gallo swung at just 22.9 percent of pitches outside the zone, which is the ninth-lowest percentage in the league. The question is still open.
Is he taking too many pitches in the zone to compensate? It could be. Although he only hit 67.5 percent of the strikes he faced in his swing, that is still a respectable 67th among MLB players. Juan Soto and Mookie Betts are just a few of the players who hit pitches in the zone less frequently with lower strikeout rates. This is not a reason.
This is because Gallo doesn't make contact when he swings. Gallo puts bat to the ball only 63.1 percent of his swings, which is second only to Javier Bez's 62.2 percent. Gallo is unable to make contact and this inability to place the ball in play can lead to his death.
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All of the above was happening while Gallo tied in tenth place in MLB in home runs (38), and maintained a batting Average under the Mendoza line, which immediately makes me think back to Adam Dunn.
Adam Dunn was a very amusing character for the younger crowd. He was the Majors' leader in major league strikeouts, walked twice and had a batting average of.270. From the mid 2000's through early 2010, Dunn had seven seasons of at least 38 home runs. He also had four consecutive (05-08) seasons with exactly 40.
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Like Gallo, Dunn also ranks at the top of the league for home runs, walks and strikeouts. In all three categories, Dunn ranked in the top 20 of Major League Baseball's top twenty nine times over his 14 seasons. Gallo, despite not having played as much as Dunn, has been ranked in the top 20 in Major League Baseball in each of his three categories in every full season (except 2020).
Gallo, Dunn and Dunn were the true outcomes players of the 2000's. Dunn is the only player to have at least 200 career home runs and more than half of his plate appearances ended in a strikeout, walk or home run (51%) Gallo's batting average is 59.4 percent after seven seasons. This is an unbelievable difference!
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Gallos's incredible leap into the stratosphere as one of three true outcome hitters was likely due to modern baseball. If we dig deeper, we will find many other current hitters who have reached the 50 percent mark in their careers. This is how baseball is today, but it wasn't in 2000. Just like Gallo, Dunn outperformed everyone in this area.
Gallo's career has been amazing, and I am not mocking him. Adam Dunn was always a fun player to watch. Gallo is no different. You know that most Gallos plate appearances will end in one of three ways. It is thrilling to see three players in a game that is full of potential. Gallo is Adam Dunn, but if I'm being honest, probably more extreme than I give him credit for.
