Home Runs by Wind Speed

Below are data visualizations that present how the number of home runs a MLB pitcher gives up in games is related to the wind speed.

A home run in baseball is a term that describes when a batter hits a ball with the result being that they are able to circle around all of the bases and score. It is one of the most exciting and popular ways of scoring in the game. However, home runs aren't as exciting for the pitchers that give them up.

It is bad for a pitcher in baseball to give up many home runs and good if they give few up. A pitcher always wants to ensure that they allow the team to score the least amount of runs to give their own team the best chance at winning.

We'll first look at how Max Scherzer, a pitcher on the New York Mets, and how wind speed factored into how many home runs he gave up in 2021.

Analyzing the data visualization above, it appears that Scherzer gave up a significant number of home runs when the wind speed in the games he pitched in was between 6 and 15 miles per hour. On the contrary, when the wind speed was less than or equal to 5 miles per hour, he gave up a lot less home runs. Hovering over the bar chart, you can see that Scherzer gave up 8 home runs in 2021 when the wind speed was less than or equal to 5 miles per hour. He gave up 15 home runs when the wind speed was between 6 and 15 miles per hour.

Now we'll look at how another pitcher, Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds was impacted by the wind in terms of how many home runs he gave up in 2021.

It is evident that Castillo gave up the least number of home runs when the wind was less than or equal to 5 miles per hour. On the other hand, he gave up most of his home runs with a wind speed between 6 and 15 miles per hour. Despite variations in same size, it's worth noting that in games when the wind speed was marginal, Castillo was not giving up many home runs.