Ho-ho-ho. It is that time of year again. Unfortunately for baseball fans though, Christmas comes at a time of year when, save for off-season signings and Winter Meetings, there is little happening in the sport. But that doesn’t mean anyone
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Tag: Mike Trout
No shift! What if defensive alignments are making hitters better?
The infield shift is a much-maligned defensive strategy, hounded as one of the worst analytics-based changes to baseball. Multiple times each season there will be some conversation about banning the shift and each time pros, ex-players/managers, commentators and analysts will
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Strength of Players Faced and the Impact on Player Output
So the World Series is complete and the Boston Red Sox are champions. The team with the best record over the season won the playoffs, that doesn’t happen often so the usual discussion of the value of the playoffs compared
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15 things you might not know about the American League so far in 2018
When you spend yours days looking through MLB stats for various things you start to find some stats about a few players and teams that are quite interesting. Most of these aren’t enough to flesh out into full articles but
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Clutching At Straws
Every time I watch an MLB game I feel like I hear commentators and fans say something like this, “This guy is the one you want on the plate in the pressure situation, he is a clutch hitter” or “Here
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Why the MLB London Series matters
Regular readers of this site over the last couple of years will have seen plenty of coverage of the MLB’s attempts to carve a small foothold in the consciousness of the British public. From initial fan engagement events, through to
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Will there be a Triple Crown winner this season?
There hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner in baseball since 2012, when Miguel Cabrera picked up the trophy, with a batting average .330, 44 home runs and 139 runs batted in. Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander were the last players
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On Prospects and Anticipation
Baseball is, in many ways, a game about waiting. The moments between pitches are usually far longer than the action themselves, and everyone is waiting for something. The pitcher, for the batter to step into the box or a sign
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The Kurious Kase of Kole Calhoun
In 2016 Kole Calhoun produced his third 3+ fWAR season for the Los Angeles Angels. Despite not hitting as many home runs are the previous season (18 in 2016 v 26 in 2015), he increased his walk rate (10.0% v
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A Brit Learning Baseball Through Books: Is it really Ninety Percent Mental?
Paddy Johnston returns for his second column, “A Brit Learning Baseball Through Books”. Read his first here. “Point is, some nights in the big leagues, flowers work. Others, you need beer. Whether you’re Jon Lester, Roger Clemens, or me. But
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