It should come as no surprise that since pitch-tracking data became available in 2002, Chicago’s king of strike-zone judgment has been White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.
In his final Sox years from 2002 to 2005, Thomas swung at 12.5% of balls outside the strike zone. By contrast, Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has swung at 38.5% of pitches outside the zone in his career. Former Cubs-turned-Tigers shortstop Javy Baez has chased 44.2% of non-strikes.
Anderson and Baez have been offensive contributors, but the more patient Thomas was special. With 521 home runs and a .974 OPS built on .