Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

Can someone tell me why there are more hits/runs in the 1st inning?

I don't know if this is especially true....

Having said that, I'd be willing to bet your correct though. It is the top of the order after all and in ATG that often means guys like Hamilton, Appling, Cobb, Collins who have huge OBP's and can also find themselves in scoring position real quick with maybe some guys like Ruth, Hornsby, Aaron and Mays to back knock 'em in.

If one steps back for a minute, it becomes clear why ATG can see some crazy offensive numbers. Teams are often loaded with a near-top five ALL-TIME player at their respected position. The card being used for this player is one of his best ever and it's being used in a context way more custom fit to it abilities (usually #'s) than it was in real life.

Obviously the higher the cap, the more offensive the game gets.


Still, good pitching wins the day. Even in the first inning. :wink:

Although I have to agree with Nels, dispite all what he said I really find that the first inning is unreal for runs. Just piles of em and I would like to see someone do a crunch.

Another factor could be the superreliever. Teams that utilize that strategy spend less on SPs, leading to higher run totals early in the game.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?t=b&lg=MLB&year=2011


You can check any year. On this page, scroll down to innings.

While the first inning looks pretty good, it seems the "6th" inning gives it a run for it's money. You can sort by each category.

Other years -- I checked 1969 -- it was the 4th. You can check trends as well by era.