WHAT WAS OLI THINKING? What a moron, am I right? #FireOli
I’m just kidding.
That’s not the route this article will travel even though I’ve seen many takes about the Alec Burleson pinch hit decision begin this same way. And that’s exactly why I want to examine this particularly interesting moment of in-game strategy. Instead of bashing Marmol or simply arguing for the contact abilities of Alec Burleson vs. the overall production of Nolan Gorman, I want to look deeper.
This article will attempt to do a few things - examine the stats to determine who should have been the choice to pinch hit and also provide a reasonable middle ground.