Posted by John Dewan on Dec 16th 2015
October 12, 2005
Was last night's first game of the American League Championship Series indicative of how White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Angels manager Mike Scioscia handle their starting pitchers? Ozzie stayed with starter Jose Contreras into the ninth inning while Scioscia pulled Paul Byrd after one batter in the seventh. Both were pitching extremely well.
That's exactly what they've been doing all year.
Baseball Info Solutions keeps track of Quick Hooks and Slow Hooks. Bill James developed a new definition involving pitch count and runs allowed. If a manager pulls the starter after fewer pitches and fewer runs than other managers, that's a quick hook. If he leaves him in after more pitches and more runs, that's a slow hook.
The tallies for Guillen and Scioscia in 2005:
Managers | Quick Hooks | Slow Hooks | Ozzie Guillen | 31 | 55 | Mike Scioscia | 47 | 37 |
Guillen's slow hooks are the most in the American League (tied with Boston manager Terry Francona) and his quick hooks are the fewest. Scioscia's slow hooks are the 4th lowest total and his quick hooks are the 3rd most.
The Bill James Handbook 2006 has a complete listing of quick and slow hooks for every manager in baseball.