Category: Baseball
Shohei Ohtani Surpasses Babe Ruth in Spectacular Fashion
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) In many regards, it’s impossible to compare current Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani with players whose careers took place about 100 years ago. This is why every comparison between Ohtani and Babe Ruth is tricky and not always fair. For the sake of keeping the argument alive, however, let’s…
Retired World Series Winner Accomplishes Significant Achievement
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) There are few, if any, accomplishments one can achieve in an athletic career better than to reach the pinnacle of your sport, and for a baseball player, that’s winning a World Series. For one former World Series champion, the road didn’t stop there, and he recently picked up another…
: The Guardians Suffer a Loss as Steven Kwan’s Hot Bat Cools off
Steven Kwan has been instrumental in helping the Guardians climb to the top of the AL Central and compile the league’s second-best record (23-12) and largest division lead (2.5 games). Unfortunately, the 26-year-old left fielder won’t be around to help them for awhile due to a hamstring strain, though if there’s a silver lining, the…
April 29–May 5 FanGraphs MLB Power Rankings
There were several exciting matchups last week in baseball, such as Dodgers-Braves, Brewers-Cubs, and Orioles-Yankees, with the winners setting the stage for potentially thrilling playoff races ahead. This season, we have made changes to our power rankings. The previous model did not adequately adapt to teams’ performance fluctuations throughout the season, putting too much emphasis…
Analyzing the Latest Trends in Pitcher Usage: A Comprehensive Look
Last week, I looked into the strange fact that starter usage hasn’t declined as precipitously as it first seemed over the past half decade. It’s downright strange that pitchers are throwing nearly as many pitches per start as they did in 2019 because it sure doesn’t feel that way. It’s even stranger that the average…
Juan Soto: The Rising Star of Major League Baseball
Juan Soto is a tricky player for me to write about, because the numbers speak for themselves — no literary flourish needed. Trying to get cute while writing about a guy performing miracles isn’t baseball blogging, it’s the Gospel of John. Nevertheless, Soto is operating on such a level (he’s hitting .316/.421/.559 through the weekend…
Dodgers Maintain Top Spot in Key Rankings as May Ramps Up
(Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) Every week, MLB’s official Twitter account updates its team power rankings. It’s a nice way to see which teams are soaring and living up to their potential, which ones are exceeding expectations, and which ones are disappointing. This week, the league has the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of…
Shohei Ohtani Continues to Dominate with Impressive Weekly Performance
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Atlanta Braves over the weekend and are probably the hottest team in the National League, winning 11 of their last 13 games. They are deep, powerful, and talented, and have the best and most unique player in MLB on their roster in Shohei Ohtani….
Jacob deGrom Achieves Significant Milestone in MLB Career
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) Reaching MLB is insanely difficult: for every player who actually makes his debut, there are dozens who had to drop out in high school, college, or the minor leagues. Actually staying in the league for 10 years is something reserved for the most talented and persistent ballplayers in the world….
Padres Add Luis Arraez to their Roster
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports A.J. Preller must have been getting itchy. It’s too early in the season for substantial trades; they generally happen before the start of the year or when the calendar has flipped to July. Teams that thought they were going for it usually haven’t accumulated enough evidence to change that view, and…