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Good article, and it stirs some mixed feelings. While I understand the value of analytics to the game, the “balance” they speak of doesn’t seem to be a priority. The pull-side, launch angle, exit velocity, home run-centric approach, that seems to be the meat and potatoes of their work with hitters, has made hitting too one-dimensional. The contact, situational baseball approach to hitting gets lost, despite the efforts to acknowledge the importance of it in this article. That being said, a very un-scientific eye test from 2025 tells me that the #RedSox had more success when they went opposite field single/double with runners on base than they did with the strikeout heavy pull-side home run approach. The contact approach was the key to their offensive surges and winning streaks. The fact that #RomanAnthony was the catalyst to their offensive resurrection and that his success was primarily of the contact variety is a compelling case in point. He focused on getting hits, not home runs. His individual stats (which have been compared to those of all-time greats in the game past and present) prove the success of a more contact approach, as do the Sox win totals when he played and the fact that they fell off offensively and team win-wise at the end of the year after his injury and when most players were playing what they were trained on: namely, pull-side home run/high strikeouts ball. Lastly, it might be a serious problem that training is heavy on pull-side, launch angles, and exit velocity, because it bleeds into the game in situations where the exact opposite approach is called for. I wonder, should, say, a lefty hitter be training equally as much in hitting lower exit velocity opposite field line drives against left-handed pitchers, instead of trying to pull in such at-bats? I imagine the likes of #WilyerAbreu will have exponentially more success as a full-time player if he does. But they (that is, Driveline, hitting coaches, etc.) don’t seem to be emphasizing that. Or, players are too one-dimensionally training on the pull-side, launch angles, exit velocity stuff that they can’t execute a situational baseball contact approach when it is necessary to do so. Just my 2 cents and if my take on what’s emphasized in hitter training is inaccurate or off in some way, I’m all ears! #RedSox, let’s get it in 2026! #DirtyWater #FenwayPark #FenwaySouth #JetBluePark #DrivelineBaseball #SituationalBaseball #OppositeField