Category: Baseball
Matt Strahm Continues to Excel and Lead the Way
Matt Strahm making the All-Star team as a setup man with no saves is a bit of an anomaly. Especially because he didn’t take the Aaron Crow route — his team had its proverbial bases covered. The Phillies are no. 1 in baseball in pitcher WAR. They’re no. 1 by a huge margin in starter…
Expert Critiques MLB All-Star Game Jerseys as ‘Unattractive’
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) This year’s MLB All-Star Game uniforms featured National Leaguers wearing a navy base with light blue lettering while the American League donned a sandy base with red sleeves and lettering. For players and fans alike, they were an eyesore. Some All-Stars expressed their desire for participants to return to the…
Philadelphia Phillies Player Feels Inspired by Team’s Winning Mindset
(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) There is little question in 2024 that the Philadelphia Phillies will once again be playing October baseball. The team sports the best record in the majors and has a comfortable cushion over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The pitching staff is the best in the sport, and…
Top Contenders Emerge as Front-runners for NL Cy Young Award
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) With the All-Star Game behind us and the season’s second half ahead, it’s high time to dust off predictions for the game’s major awards. Near the top of that list is the Cy Young, and the National League in 2024 has a fascinating race for the honor. According to…
The 2024 Standout Performers in Shortstop and Center Field
Strength up the middle is important to any contender, but with so many teams still in the hunt for a playoff spot, it’s no surprise some of them have weak spots. Sometimes, it’s easier for a team to convince itself that the metrics aren’t fully capturing the strength of a light-hitting player’s defense if they’re…
Theoretical Implications of Free Agent Contracts and Auction Theory in Baseball
Imagine an auction that takes place between three bidders. The item in question? An envelope filled with money. All three bidders employ teams of analysts that attempt to ascertain how much money is in the envelope, based on a variety of evidence that isn’t important for this analogy. Each bidder thus arrives at an estimate…
Analyzing the Carter-Papelbon Scale in FanGraphs Baseball
One of my enduring memories of watching the All-Star game as a child — a child who became a baseball fan in a time before high-speed internet, social media, or even interleague play — was learning about all the players I’d been unable to see throughout the regular season. That included the American League and…
Observations of Avian Activity: A FanGraphs Baseball Analysis
One of the enjoyable aspects of baseball (and life in general) is the ability to spot something unique that only you are paying attention to. Last Wednesday, the Twins suffered their first loss to the White Sox after winning the first eight matchups. The bird made an appearance during the first inning, perched on a…
Breaking Down Effectively Wild Episode 2191: The Impact of Not Shaking it Off on the Baseball Field
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Home Run Derby, the Futures Game and skills competition, Globe Field Field, All-Star uniforms, and more reflections from All-Star Week, then (34:18) discuss a challenge-system-driven change to broadcast K-zone displays, Chris Sale‘s aversion to pitch-calling, quantifying game-calling, David Fletcher‘s latest knuckleballing, using a position-player pitcher against a…
There is a Top Contender to Take Home All-Star Game MVP Honors
(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) There are sports phenoms who take the world by storm, and then there’s Paul Skenes. Not only is the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher one of the three top must-see players in MLB, but he was selected to start for the National League in the All-Star Game after only 11 big…