World Series rules of course mandate -- from on high and while wearing a magistrate's wig -- that starting pitchers shall bat when games are played in National League parks. That means that when the Giants-Royals World Series shifts to AT&T Park for Games 3, 4 and (if necessary) 5, pitchers shall wield lumber. How might that go?
We're going to have to make some assumptions at this point. Based on how each team slotted its LCS rotation, the Giants figure to go Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner in Games 3-5. The Royals, presumably, line up with Jeremy Guthrie, Jason Vargas and James Shields in those same contests.
First, here are the career batting numbers for the Giants' pitchers listed above ...
| Pitcher/Hitter | Career offensive AVG/OBP/SLG | Career plate appearances |
| Tim Hudson | .158/.195/.207 | 668 |
| Ryan Vogelsong | .145/.200/.176 | 306 |
| Madison Bumgarner | .166/.208/.255 | 343 |
For comparison's sake, it's worth noting that NL pitchers this past season batted a combined .122/.153/.153. So these three Giants starters can hit. In related matters, we know what Mad Bum is capable of when he runs into one ...
We also know that Hudson, even at age 39, can produce (his numbers were down this season, but he was quite productive as pitchers go in 2013 and 2012). After all, Hudson was of course a part-time outfielder in college and put up excellent numbers at the plate. Vogelsong has also been an effective hitter, again by the low standards of pitchers.
Now for the Royals ...
| Pitcher/Hitter | Career offensive AVG/OBP/SLG | Career plate appearances |
| Jeremy Guthrie | .089/.121/.125 | 64 |
| Jason Vargas | .262/.297/.311 | 66 |
| James Shields | .213/.245/.234 | 50 |
Obviously, we're dealing with vanishingly small sample sizes with these three pitchers, which is what you'd expect given that AL pitchers, generally speaking, bat only in interleague road games. Guthrie and Vargas have each spent time on NL rosters, so that bumps their totals up a bit.
Vargas, like Hudson, was an accomplished part-time hitter in college, so there's no doubt some legitimacy to his numbers. Still, it's worth noting that Vargas hasn't even come to the plate since 2012. Shields was also a standout hitter in high school, in the competitive ranks of Southern California no less. So there's that. Again, though, with Shields we're talking about 50 plate appearances spread across nine big-league seasons. In none of those seasons has he come to the plate more than eight times.
In the end, give the Giants an edge in this regard but with the strong possibility that that edge can't be leveraged (after all, pitchers are probably going to make outs every time they come up to bat). The wrinkle, though, is Vargas, as his big-league numbers are strong and he has a college-hitting pedigree undergirding them. He presents the Royals with their best chance to equalize what's typically a solid advantage for NL teams in the World Series.
