Ben Sheets recorded 19 ground outs and 17 air outs in his 2008 Spring Training Campaign, a percentage of 52.8% ground balls.

Should he record outs at this percentage for the full season, he will record his best ground ball outs percentage since 2002.

What does this mean for the rest of his game?

-During seasons in which Sheets recorded a larger percentage of ground outs than air outs, his K/BB ratio was lower:

2001-2002: 56.7% GO, 2.24 K/BB

2003-2004: 49.5% GO, 5.61 K/BB

2005-2007: 42.7%, 4.97 K/BB

Of course, 2001-2002 were his first two seasons, and 2005-2007 were injury-plagued, so all we really know about Sheets is that he recorded a higher number of air outs in 2003-2004, and struck out a lot of batters per walk (and walked almost next to nobody).

Oddly enough, in his career, a larger percentage of ground balls has not equalled fewer home runs allowed:

2001-2002: 1.08 HR/9 IP

2003-2004: 1.06 HR/9 IP

2005-2007: 1.23 HR/9 IP

So, what happens in 2008 if Sheets records a higher percentage of ground outs than air outs?