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How do major league hitters fare against curveballs?
Posted by John Dewan on Dec 16th 2015
September 22, 2005
The short answer—not too well. Looking at the in-depth data from Baseball Info Solutions on all batters in Major League Baseball in 2005, they hit .285 when they put a fastball in play, bit only .221 on curveballs. The slugging percentage difference is even greater—.447 vs. .343.| MLB Hitters—2005 | ||
| Ball Hit into Play | Batting Average | Slugging Percentage |
| Curveballs | .221 | .343 |
| Fastballs | .282 | .447 |
Nevertheless, fastballs are thrown seven times more often than curveballs. Why is that? Pretty simple—it's not easy to throw an effective curveball, let alone throwing one for a strike.