Is Ian Kinsler Popping Out More In 2012 Than He Did In 2011?

Tricky question to answer. We could use IFFB% rate, but that doesn't factor in all of the pop flys that a batter hits just beyond the infield dirt that we still tend to regard as pop ups. For the record, Kinsler's infield fly rate last season was 10.9%, and it's 11.8% this year.

So, let's take this a little further. On the left is his 2011 air out spray chart, and on the right is his 2012 air out spray chart. I had to make a judgment call on the line between a conventional fly ball out to the outfield (which still sucks, but at least you can say that the hitter hit the ball at a better angle/with more power/etc.), and a fly ball out that was caught in the infield or just beyond. I picked a very arbitrary line based on my own intuition; if you don't like the line I picked, you can pick your own line and eyeball it or some such:

On the left are the air out results from Kinsler's first 483 PA from last season. On the right are the air out results from Kinsler's 485 PA from this season (current through today).

In 2011, I count three foul ball air outs, 34 fair ball air outs inside the ring, 1 error (which should have been an out), and six air outs that are mostly on the line/inside the ring. That's a total of 44 pop outs in 483 PA.

In 2012, I count one foul ball air out, 37 fair ball air outs inside the ring, and four air outs that are mostly on the line/inside the ring. That's a total of 42 pop outs in 485 PA.

In that regard, Kinsler has been extremely consistent ... the overarching problem, of course, is that he's not hitting nearly as well this year as he was last, as his wRC+ has fallen from 128 in 2011 to 114 in 2012. And, with that being the case, despite the slightly greater quantity of air outs/pop outs last season, you prefer 2011 on the whole.

Interesting results, though ... and, for what it's worth, Kinsler's 131 air outs this season is the second-highest mark in baseball, behind only J.J. Hardy's 141. Last year, he had 211 air outs, which was far and away the highest mark in baseball ... but he had a monster year, so, you know, there's that.