Dodgers' defensive alignment against Gunnar Henderson shows that "the book is out" on the Orioles struggling star

In the third inning of the Baltimore Orioles game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gunnar Henderson hit a Yoshinobu Yamamoto fastball to the opposite field. The ball was not hit very hard, but it hit right down the left field line to an area where weak fly balls can often fall for extra base hits, especially if the defense is playing a left-handed batter to pull, which, based on Henderson's season, would be how you might expect the defense to be positioned. However, instead of falling to the outfield grass, this fly ball was caught by a sliding Alex Call.

Both broadcasts showed the replay over and over again, and what stood out besides the fact that Call made an excellent catch was that the catch was made possible because Call was shaded over towards the left field line as if Henderson were a right-handed pull hitter rather than a left-handed pull hitter. Before the pitch was even thrown, Call was perfectly positioned to make the play.

With Call shaded towards the left field line and the centerfielder and right fielder both playing Henderson to pull the Dodgers, they were leaving a massive gap between the left fielder and the center fielder. The message the Dodgers were sending Henderson was loud and clear: "We don't think you can go the other way on purpose."  

Gunnar Henderson has become a very predictable hitter

Looking at Henderson's spray chart this season, it's easy to see how the Dodgers came to this conclusion. The vast majority of his hits have been to the pull side. Going from hits to contact, Henderson is pulling the ball at a career high 47.6% this season.

On the few occasions that Henderson has gone the other way for a hit, it's been far more likely to be just down the left field line than in the left center gap. Looking at the videos of Henderson's opposite-field hits, it seems more like an accident than an intentional approach.

A few weeks ago, Henderson hit a double to the opposite field against the Red Sox and just stayed in the box for a few seconds thinking it was going to be a foul ball before realizing he'd accidentally pushed a ball the other way. The flyout against Yamamoto looks much more like Henderson fighting off a pitch and being surprised it stayed in play than Henderson trying to drive a fastball to the opposite field.

The Dodgers must have looked at what Henderson has done this year and decided. "If this guy is going to hit the ball to left field, it's going to be by accident, and it's most likely going to be just down the line, so why not just put our left fielder in position to make that play?" So they did, and it worked.

The thing about this is not so much that Henderson got robbed of one extra base hit by some excellent defensive positioning. The problem is that if Henderson is so predictable at the plate that the Dodgers can put their outfielders right where he's going to hit the ball, then that's got to make him easier to pitch to for every team in the league.

Pulling the ball is a valuable skill, and many of the best hitters in the league pull the ball even more than Henderson, but being willing and able to go the other way makes it much more difficult to pitch to a player. If a batter has opposite-field power, pitchers have to worry about exposing themselves to it. It takes certain pitches off the board. It makes your at-bats more stressful for the opposition.

If it's all pull all the time, then pitchers know how to pitch to you. They might occasionally miss and give up a bomb, but if a batter is only interested in pulling the ball, his at-bats become formulaic for opposing pitchers. There is no mental battle where both sides have their full arsenal on display. The pitcher just knows this guy is going to swing out of his shoes trying to hit one over the right field wall and if I just execute this fastball away and then backfoot slider him, I'll get a strikeout or a weak grounder as long as I don't hang it.

That's what's been happening to Henderson all season!

What's frustrating about this is that in the past, Henderson was exactly the kind of hitter who could spray a hard hit line drive into the left-center gap for a double. His spray charts from seasons look like actual spray charts. There are hits of all kinds in every direction. 400-foot homers to the opposite field! Triples to the left-center gap! Doubles off the left field wall!

Henderson was incredibly effective as a balanced hitter who was a threat to pull a hanging breaking ball to deep right field and smash a fastball down the left field line (on purpose!). This selling out to pull the ball approach has made him far too predictable and easy to pitch to.

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