Anthony Santander, a name that has been making waves in the baseball world. His 2024 season was a tale of both extremes and peculiarities. Let's delve deep into the world of Santander and his remarkable relationship with foul balls.

Unraveling Santander's Foul Ball Conundrum

Section 1: The Foul Ball Avalanche

In 2024, Anthony Santander hit an astonishing 655 foul balls, a staggering 220 more than the fair balls he managed to hit. This means that a whopping 60% of the time he made contact, the ball went foul. It's a statistic that truly takes your breath away. Imagine a player hitting mostly foul balls instead of the expected fair ones. Santander's dominance in this regard was second only to Matt Olson in previous seasons. This season, his foul ball per plate appearance rate was a whopping 98.9%, making him a standout in this unwanted category.

Section 2: The Unholy Amalgam

Santander's propensity for foul balls isn't the only thing that makes him stand out. In 2024 alone, he led baseball with 65 popups. This tied for the league lead in 2023 and he finished second in 2022. When you combine these foul balls and popups, known as foul outs, Santander becomes an unavoidable topic. His high percentage of follow-throughs with his head tipped back, looking like a little kid trying to catch raindrops, is a sight to behold.

Section 3: Foul Out Leaders and Home Ballparks

In 2024, Santander's 36 foul outs were nine more than Daulton Varsho in second place. Only 14 hitters in all of baseball had half as many foul outs as Santander. Over the past 37 seasons, his 2024 campaign ranks fifth in terms of foul outs. Looking at the list of most foul outs in a single season, you notice some interesting patterns. Joe Carter really loved fouling out, and many of the players on the list played in ballparks with ample foul territory. Oriole Park, where Santander plays, has 23,600 square feet of foul territory, which isn't the largest but has its unique distribution.

Section 4: Hitting at the Bottom of the Zone

Santander's heat map shows that he does his best work at the bottom of the zone. With 49.7% of the pitches he saw being either fastballs or cutters, and an average pitch crossing the plate at a height of 2.45 feet, it's no surprise that he gets under more balls. This leads to a spray chart that looks like the dregs of the Dippin' Dots container. His profile and home ballpark are pushing him toward this dubious distinction, making his season all the more absurd.

Section 5: The Outlier Status

Over the past three seasons, Santander has fouled out 79 times, 15 more than José Ramírez in second place. On the all-time list of foul outs, his 2024 campaign is the only season in the top 30 that has come in the last 10 years. This is a surprising fact considering the league's foul ball rate has been rising steadily since at least 2002 and the popup rate has stayed fairly constant. It's a mystery that will keep us thinking as we move forward.