After watching Chase Utley jerk another HR into the RF seats at the Zen, I was wondering if Utley has made an effort to pull the ball this season. It's probably too early to draw any conclusions, but I found these stats on baseball-reference.com regarding balls pulled, hit up the middle, and hit to the opposite field.
Last year, Utley had 69 hits and 8 HR listed under pull, 82 hits and 11 HR on up the middle, and 25 hits and 3 HR the opposite way. This season, he has 20 hits and 8 HR pulled, 22 hits and 5 HR up the middle and 3 hits and 0 HR the other way. Notice he already has as many pulled HR this year as in 2007.
For his career, Utley has 290 hits and 65 HR pulled, 310 hits and 39 HR up the middle, and 84 hits and 5 HR to the opposite field. Historically, Utley seems to be a pull-up the middle hitter. But the small sample from this year suggests he might be trying to pull even more.
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