Stats vs. Prejudice

A fireballing righthanded relief pitcher is brought in to the game in the bottom of the ninth. There are two outs with the tying run at third and the winning run at second. First is open. Next up in the third position is a weak hitting shortstop brought in for defensive purposes earlier currently hitting .220 with one home run and six rbis. On deck is the opponent's power hitter, a left hander with 30 home-runs and 70 RBIs, hitting .290. The question--that the relief pitcher probably never asks--is would both these encounters, the relief pitcher vs. the shortstop or the number four hitter, be the same. Would the pitcher do just as well pitching to the number four hitter?
The answer, of course, is no. The reason is that, while God has created all humans with equal love and spiritual value, in some social situations there are hierarchies.
This is not to diminish shortstops but, sometimes, they just can't hit.