One or the Other

So, the team that didn’t hit that many homeruns (five) in the NLCS is going to the World Series, while the team that did hit homeruns (eleven) isn’t. Go figure. I insist. The Diamondbacks won games six and seven on the road against the Phillies because their updated version of Whitey Herzog baseball trumped launch angle. That’s it in a nutshell. Live by the long ball, die by the long ball, or, put another way, it doesn’t matter you outscored the opposition 30-21 if fifteen of those runs came in the first two games, as opposed to three runs in the last two. To take a quick look at the stats, Kyle Schwarber was the better leadoff hitter compared to Corbin Carroll; Schwarber hit .364 with five homers, but only five RBIs, to Carroll’s .222 with two RBIs for the series. But, if analytics has taught us anything, it’s to take a deeper look. Carroll went 4-for-8 those last two games in Philadelphia, with two RBIs and three runs scored; granted, he batted second in game seven as well as games three and four, but, just for fun, let’s call it the second leadoff spot. That said, now look at Schwarber. He went 1-for-5 with no RBIs or runs scored, with three walks that didn’t lead to anything. Did I mention the Diamondbacks ran wild on the bases with eight stolen bases the last two games vs. one for the Phillies? Arizona out-stole Philadelphia nine bases to seven. If nothing else, all that running in the last two games may have affected Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto, who went 2-for-8 with a run scored and zero RBIs. Realmuto had six RBIs in the first five games of the series. Enough of Philadelphia, unless you’re wed to the idea of winning with a power hitter batting leadoff, in which case I can’t help you. A question worth considering, at least for White Sox fans, is: Who would you rather have in center field, Carroll or Luis Robert Jr.? Defensively, the nod might go to Robert, though it’s interesting that Arizona’s Alek Thomas—him again—is, like Robert, a Gold Glove finalist. Now, what about hitting? Carroll batted .285 with twenty-five homers; seventy-six RBIs; and 116 runs to Robert’s .264; thirty-eight-homers; eighty RBIs; and ninety runs scored. So, who would you pick?