Regular contributor No Statistician But (or nsb for short) has prepared this series of posts about players whose careers were most affected by time lost to military service during World War II. The focus is not on the elite players we all know about, but on players whose prowess might have become better known if not for the war.
Part 1 will focus on pitchers and catchers, Part 2 on infielders, and Part 3 on outfielders. Without further ado, I hand it over to nsb. Continue reading
What is the sweetest way to win a game of baseball against your closest rival? Is it dominating your opponent in their own backyard? Maybe it’s through an impressive individual performance, perhaps coming from an unlikely source. Or is it a gutsy come-from-behind win, culminating in a walk-off hit in front of a full house of partisans?
If it’s the latter, then it’s difficult to imagine a happier set of fans than those of the Los Angeles Dodgers in June of 1974 after one dramatic series versus the rival San Francisco Giants.
Two Hall of Fame elections are on tap for next year, the annual Baseball Writers of America selection, and a ballot called “Today’s Game Era” for recent players passed over by the BBWAA. There are a wealth of worthy candidates on the BBWAA ballot so, as in the last few elections, there could be several honorees. Or, with so many candidates, the voters’ selections may diverge, limiting the number of successful candidates (if any).
This post is for discussion of the two ballots, and provides an opportunity for you to weigh in and make your best case for your favorites. If you like, you could also offer your predictions on how the voting might go and why you think that way. More after the jump. Continue reading
Willie McCovey died late last month at the age of 80. In a career spanning four decades, McCovey established himself as one of the most feared sluggers of his era. And what an era it was, with almost half (9 of 20) of the 100 Batting WAR club among his contemporaries. More on McCovey after the jump. Continue reading
Hello as always, HHSers! Dr. Doom here again.
Let’s get to the main event: the minor awards. Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year, in both leagues. They may be the hardest to evaluate, and the ones that are most likely to make you throw up your hands and shout, “Oh who knows?!” So let’s hop to it with some thoughts! Continue reading
Andrew Benintendi had the most excruciating plate appearance of last night’s World Series Game 2. It wasn’t because he was over-matched against Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching; there were no Stanton-esque hacks at diving curveballs. Nor was there the nervous tension of accumulating foul balls, piling on the pressure for batter, pitcher and fan alike.
No, the at bat merely took an absolute age.
These two “original 16” franchises renew their post-season “rivalry”, a mere 102 years after their only previous World Series matchup. A look back and a look ahead to this year’s Fall Classic are after the jump. Continue reading
Hello baseball fans, it’s Dr. Doom again! (I know it was just a little while since the last post, but it’s awards season!)
Today, we’re going to dive into BOTH Cy Young Awards! (As an aside, I kind of wish the award had a different name in each league: the Cy Young and the Walter Johnson, maybe. Yes, it could get confusing when talking about how many “pitcher of the year” awards people won, but it’s also always fun when you get to name awards after players and honor the game’s history. End of aside.) Continue reading
Greetings, everyone! Dr. Doom here again.
Doug is generously letting me write awards-balloting posts again. So I’ll start with some discussion, and you can feel free to weigh in with your ballots in the comments. Rules are at the bottom of the post. More after the jump. Continue reading
As the regular season reaches its conclusion, here’s a look at various statistical accomplishments of the 2018 season for players on each of the 30 teams. You may already know some of them, but for many, I think, you’ll read them here first. More after the jump. Continue reading