General

Daniel Moskos: Pitcher Recalls Journey from High Draft Pick to Lengthy Professional Career

March 10, 2019 by Andrew Martin

There are no guarantees in baseball. Literally none. Professional players must fight and earn everything they achieve without exceptions. This includes former top draft picks like pitcher Daniel Moskos, who had a 12-year professional career and reached the majors leagues, but had nothing given to him along the way. The left-handed Moskos was highly... Read more of this article

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Adam Hyzdu: The Former Boston Red Sox Outfielder’s Hard Road to Success

March 9, 2019 by Andrew Martin

When Adam Hyzdu came out of high school he was a hot shot prospect, selected in the first round of the 1990 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants. The future looked promising for the slugging outfielder as he started his professional career. Few people, including Hyzdu, would have guessed that it would take him 10 years to reach the major leagues.... Read more of this article

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The BBWAA “Report Card” for the 21st Century

March 8, 2019 by Michael Hoban

The CAWS Career Gauge (CCG) has ranked all of the outstanding players of the modern era (since 1920) according to the numbers that they produced on the field.  (CAWS is an acronym for Career Assessment/Win Shares.)   In addition, the CCG has also created a series of benchmarks to determine whether a player seems to have the numbers to suggest he... Read more of this article

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How Has Bryce Harper’s Contract Impacted Mookie Betts’ Quest for a New Deal?

March 2, 2019 by Andrew Martin

The recent signing of free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper to a record-breaking 13-year, $330 million contract by the Philadelphia Phillies sent shock waves across baseball. Although the star slugger will continue making his home in the National League, the deal may have a surprising impact on the Boston Red Sox—specifically in their pursuit to retain... Read more of this article

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Examining Bryce Harper’s Free-Agent Contract With the Philadelphia Phillies

February 28, 2019 by Andrew Martin

A major source of lingering drama in Major League Baseball has been resolved with the news that star free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper has agreed to a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. With Spring Training already in full swing, the announcement sets the sport on its ear, as a major domino has fallen and changed the... Read more of this article

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ESTIMATING PARK FACTORS FOR THE NEGRO LEAGUES

February 28, 2019 by Kevin Johnson

Most serious baseball fans understand that ballparks can have a large impact on statistical performance. However, trying to measure that exact impact often proves difficult. In work we’ve done on Major League ballparks at Seamheads.com, it takes about three full years of data, regressed by about one additional season worth of games, to get a decent... Read more of this article

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How a Runaway Taxi Temporarily Saved Casey Stengel’s Managing Job

February 25, 2019 by Andrew Martin

Before he became the legendary skipper of the New York Yankees, winning 10 pennants and seven World Series, Casey Stengel was a pretty good outfielder for 14 big league seasons and a second division manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves. So uninspiring was his leadership of the Braves, that in 1943 he missed more than a quarter of the... Read more of this article

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WAR and JAWS – Exaggerating Fielding Value

February 25, 2019 by Michael Hoban

In an earlier post, I pointed out that Matt Chapman’s WAR value for 2018 (8.2) seemed to indicate that he had the third best season of any major leaguer – behind only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. Of course, any serious fan looking at the numbers would know that this assertion is not believable. There were at least five or six (or more) players who... Read more of this article

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How Ernie Banks Revolutionized the Position of Shortstop

February 20, 2019 by Doug Wilson

*And where did those home runs come from? One of the unfortunate byproducts of Ernie Banks’ Mr. Cub image being so great is that sometimes it obscures exactly how good of a player he was in his prime, before bad knees forced a move to first base. The present generation may not realize how he single-handedly revolutionized the position of shortstop. Before... Read more of this article

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Is the MLBPA Losing Sight of its Mission?

February 19, 2019 by Ted Leavengood

When Marvin Miller worked with a committed corps of Major League players to create the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the players both individually and collectively were truly a disadvantaged group. A few well-known players got big paydays, but almost every player held an off-season... Read more of this article

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