Enough is enough! You might be aware of Cointree trading. But there are several other trade types and secrets yet to know. There is and was a litany of reasons why trading Mookie Betts (and… Read more »
COMMENTARY
When discussing the great Negro League players one gets used to hearing about the same group of players. Satchel Paige, Bullet Rogan, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and a few others are the mainstays of… Read more »
Ivan Nova is sneakily special. Six pitchers threw more than 160 innings in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and had ERAs below 4.20 each of those years: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Corey Kluber, Jake Arrieta and… Read more »
Franmil Reyes. Franimal. La Mole. There are a few names for one of the most interesting players in the big leagues this year. He certainly has one of the most interesting triple-slash lines — Reyes… Read more »
[Ed. note: Banished to the Pen contributor Mike Moriarty passed away on April 28, 2019. This was a piece submitted shortly before his passing, and we’re running it today as a tribute to Mike. He… Read more »
For the longest time, the Negro Leagues were more myth and legend than they were fact. Stories were told about players, teams, leagues, seasons, managers, and careers that painted many as legends more than they… Read more »
The knuckleball is a beautiful, mysterious, fang-toothed monster of a pitch. It is Ali-like in its ability to both float and bite, seemingly at random. It’s uncontrollable for throwers, catchers, and prospective hitters. It’s no wonder so much… Read more »
The purpose of this series has always been to shed light on aspects of the Negro, and associated, Leagues that deserve recognition. Great seasons that have never gotten their due, excellent careers that went unnoticed,… Read more »
There has been much consternation, and dare I say some gnashing of teeth, about the state of the Boston Red Sox bullpen on the doorstep of the 2019 season. In its annual positional power rankings,… Read more »
Baseball is a game with a rich and voluminous history. Much of that history happens to be white, which may piss some people off but is the reality of the situation. The overwhelming majority of… Read more »
With the abundance of analytics permeated throughout the game, front offices are smarter today than they ever have been. They are equipped with real-time data that allows them to make extremely accurate projections and ultimately,… Read more »
Via @DanHirsch: Of the 107 players to play 21+ years, 11 never had a negative-WAR season (Hank Aaron, Cap Anson, Beltre, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Stat Musial, Jim O'Rourke, Frank… Read more »
I want to show OPS some love. I want to state that not only is OPS intuitive and useful, it is a good and mathematically sound statistic. In short, I want to argue against the… Read more »
Out of the Park Developments released the nineteenth iteration of the most robust baseball simulation game on the market this spring. It may not be revelatory to review a game that hit the market three… Read more »
Aaron Nola could be crowned the Philadelphia Phillies MVP for the first half with his latest performance on Sunday — a succinct bundle of emphatic personality and competitiveness. In a show of insistent work and… Read more »
If there were a race for analytical departments in MLB to make themselves intriguing amidst a “rebuild,” the Tampa Bay Rays are, subjectively, in the lead for their willingness to redefine the traditions of baseball… Read more »
Even with a comparatively down free agent market this last winter, Tyler Chatwood exceeded many contract predictions when he signed for $38 million over three years with the Chicago Cubs. Despite a fairly average career… Read more »
I’m not a dad. But I am old enough that baseball, as it’s played today, looks different than how it did when I was younger. Meaning the conventions I grew up with aren’t really contemporary… Read more »
There are very few things more satisfying than the “jump” in checkers. And it’s rare when you can incorporate a kids’ board game into Major League Baseball, but Phillies GM Matt Klentak and uber-agent Scott… Read more »
About four years ago I was pitching batting practice to my then 11-year-old son’s team. One of his teammates, a nearly fully-grown 12-year-old (who, in his sophomore year of high school, already committed to play… Read more »
I worked on a movie that came out last week (note: you should see it, it is really funny). The premise of the film is that three parents venture out to stop their daughters from… Read more »
We’re a week into the 2018 MLB season which, for all its walk-offs, extra innings, home runs, great pitching performances, and great pitching performers who hit home runs, is in the way of free agency… Read more »
For many Marlins fans, dwelling in the past is about all you have if you haven’t lost faith in your team entirely. If you’re sick of visiting the past as it offers nothing for the… Read more »
If you have ever coached a youth tournament game, you are familiar with the California Tie-Breaker. The genesis of the name is unknown, but one must assume it got its moniker on the fields of… Read more »
Previously on “Nick Strangis previews the Arizona Diamondbacks”, I suggested that the 2016 Diamondbacks resembled a real life Shrodinger’s Cat – they were simultaneously a young-ish team with loads of untapped talent and incredible upside… Read more »
Next week, the Hall of Fame class of 2018 will be announced. As usual, the last several months have included tremendous hemming and hawing over the ballot and its abundance of, or lack thereof, worthy… Read more »
My father has his own blog. In it, he writes his thoughts, feelings, and opinions, and concludes with “that is my take – you decide.” I have always thought this a clever writing tool, as… Read more »
I have always been intrigued by the athlete’s wife. Before anyone paints me a misogynist, as of this morning, there are no women playing any of the four major sports, and also as of this… Read more »
The first (and only) copy of the Baseball America Prospect Handbook that I bought featured a young Jurickson Profar on its cover. Handsome, sporting a glitzy smile and a two-eared batting helmet, Profar made the… Read more »
It’s over. I’m done. For at least the next few years, I’m out. For as long as I can remember – going back to the Summer of ’77 and my first visit to Fenway Park… Read more »
