I find this topic interesting because we've seen two models of platooning/spare-parting that have been fairly ineffective in entirely unique ways: the Mariners' regular season struggles since 2004 and the Orcs-sucking-at-the-Playoffs since 2000ish, especially after they started losing Giambi/Tejada/Chavez/Hudson/Zito/Mulder, etc.
At the same time, as I continue to chew on the non-mathematical side, it's clear that the study has HUGE amounts of considerations and variables.
For instance, even with a player that has a vR platoon advantage, we don't know how much vL (or ABs in general) are neede for the skill to gel.
Some hitters might just roll out of bed and hit vR no matter what.
But just as with the DH-doesn't-field issue for position players, we'll probably see players who just need to see a certain amount of pitches before they hit at all.
Maybe teams should just hire practice pitchers for hitters (Japanese teams actually do this and make 50~100K a season) like they have bullpen catchers for pitchers.
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