The RISP Mystery

In this Baseball Prospectus article, I continue my analysis of batting with runners in scoring position. Unsurprisingly--given pitcher quality, fielders' positions, and several other factors--batters hit more singles with runners in scoring position. They hit more doubles, too. And more triples. And they walk more. And the strike out less. All good. Except...they also hit fewer homers. That doesn't apply just to good hitters and bad hitters, it's across the board. Batters hit home runs less frequently with runners in scoring position than without. I explore various explanations without a definite answer in the article.