Pop time

Pop time, also known as POP, is a baseball statistic that measures the time it takes for a catcher to make a throw from home plate to second base during a stolen base attempt. The measure combines catcher's footwork (the time to get into throwing position), exchange time (the transfer from glove to throwing hand to release), and arm strength (velocity of throw).^[1]

The effectiveness of measuring pop time has been discussed. The primary criticism of the statistic is that it values speed over accuracy, as it does not account for whether the throw reached its destination.^[2] MLB.com's Mike Petriello said, "pop time does matter in preventing stolen bases, though it's also unsurprisingly a pretty noisy relationship".^[3]

The MLB average pop time is 2.01 seconds.^[4] A pop time of less than 2.0 seconds affords the pitcher 1.3 seconds to throw the ball to the catcher.^[5] Salvador Perez's 1.74 pop time during a 2017 throw was considered "stretch[ing] the boundaries of the position".^[6]

Austin Hedges led MLB in pop time in the 2017 season, with a 1.86 second average.^[2] In 2018, J. T. Realmuto led the league with a 1.90-second time.^[1]

Pop time leaders. (All stats are from 2015-2024.)^[7]

Year	Player	Team	Pop Time
2015	Christian Bethancourt	Atlanta Braves	1.89
2016	Gary Sanchez	New York Yankees	1.90
2017	Austin Hedges	San Diego Padres	1.90
2018	J.T. Realmuto	Miami Marlins	1.90
2019	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.88
2020	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.81
2021	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.84
2022	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.89
2023	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.83
2024	J.T. Realmuto	Philadelphia Phillies	1.85

References

1. "Pop Time (POP)". mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
2. Miller, Sam (May 15, 2018). "'Pop' science: Your guide to learning a new MLB stat". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
3. Petriello, Mike (March 8, 2018). "Star catchers shine in new Statcast metrics". mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
4. "Statcast Catcher Poptime Leaderboard". Baseball Savant. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
5. Goold, Derek (September 14, 2012). "How fast did Molina throw that ball to second?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
6. Dodd, Rustin (September 10, 2016). "Here's why the Royals think Salvador Perez can become an even better catcher". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
7. "Statcast Catcher Pop Time Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved 2024-10-22.