Let’s Make a Metric for Triple-Willingness
One of the more underrated plays in baseball, in this blogger’s humble opinion, is the “hustle double.” When a player tries to squeeze an extra base out of what appears to be a single...
When You Just Need a Zero
When creating digital products, like websites or apps, an important step is to conduct performance testing, which according to Wikipedia is “performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a...
How Many Starters Do Teams Use in a Season?
One of the bigger stories of the 2023 season to this point, rather unfortunately, involves underperformance; specifically, the story of the highly paid and underperforming Mets. Through July 21st, the $445 million dollar (after...
The 2023 Texas Rangers: Meeting, and Exceeding, Expectations
Here in mid-May, the 2023 Texas Rangers find themselves atop the AL West. In fact, they have occupied first place (solely or in a tie) for the entire season to this point. For fans...
How Meaningful are Opening Day Starts, Really?
Baseball, perhaps more than all other American sports, values tradition. That emphasis on existing conventions is part of what makes baseball special. However, a predisposition to doing things “how they’ve always been done” makes...
Looking Beyond the Defensive Spectrum
When I think of the defensive spectrum in baseball, sometimes I picture a baseball diamond-shaped table disrupted by constant tremors. In the center of that table are many orb-like objects (marbles, beans, very small...
Where on the Diamond do Defensive Statistics Agree?
Defensive metrics in baseball can be tricky to really grasp. Fortunately, as defensive metrics have become more popularized over the last handful of seasons, it has been correspondingly easier to at least contextualize them....
The Major Leagues, Arriving and Staying
Just days before the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, Stephen Vogt announced that he would retire at season’s end. By all accounts, Vogt is a popular, well-respected person and (now former) teammate. On...
Let’s Make a New Three True Outcomes Metric
Last month on June 9th, the Yankees had a good win against the Twins in Minnesota. Down 7-3 early in the contest, the Yankees went on to score 7 unanswered runs to win 10-7....
The Final Step: Hitting in the Major Leagues
Few things are so exciting as a promotion. A promotion generally represents a lot of time, energy, and focus devoted to a role. While all promotions are special, there is a legitimate argument to...