Yes it was very tongue-in-cheek comment about hockey. That said if the removal of pitchers batting (and the managerial strategy that accompanies its) is all it takes for you to lose interest in baseball, I’d suggest you weren’t much of a baseball fan to begin with.
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My baseball is different from yours. that’s all.
So, Freeman is one of those dicks who picks on rookies who don’t play the game right (minorities, usually).
Max Fried is the reigning Silver Slugger at pitcher, possibly for eternity
Unless Ohtahni plays In the NL some year
Aaron Judge turns down eight year $230 million+ contract from Yankees. His agent wanted in excess of Mike Trout’s $319 million+ over 9 years.
Even if Ohtani does jump to the NL sometime, I doubt they award a pitcher silver slugger ever again if there is a permanent DH.
Instead the Yanks should wait until Vladimir Guerrero’s contract is up for renegotiation and go all in for him.
A 10-6 record currently only gets you fourth place in NL West.
Home runs and scoring are down, strikeouts are way up. It appears the drag coefficient of baseballs is higher, as barrelled balls are traveling shorter distances. Interesting article on The Athletic, including a theory about how the humidors may be causing higher drag
“The wool yarn inside a baseball is sensitive to humidity,” she points out. “Under dry conditions, it loses structural integrity, and pressure from the covers shrinks the ball. If you add back moisture — say, in a humidor — the ball will expand again, but there’s no guarantee the yarn layers will do so symmetrically.”
“There’s a gap in the covers along the seams, meaning there’s not as much pressure,” Wills added. “The yarn should expand more into areas that push back less, raising the seams. Since the deader balls are wound more loosely, they collapse more when dried out and are better able to push up between the covers. As a result, their seams would likely go up even more, producing balls with even higher drag. In other words, storing those new balls in humidors may be killing offense.”
Maybe one month is too short a time period to draw conclusions? At least it doesn’t seem to have affected the Blue Jays as they have hit 25 home runs so far. Of course, one could always argue they would have hit 30 by now with different balls….
didn’t read the article - but its been cold where I live. does the data factor in game temp?
Yes, weather is discussed. Weather adjusted HR rates are down.
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I wonder if the balls are also being affected more by spin rate and such, giving the pitchers advantages with the various curving pitches.
And Angel Hernandez, of course.
More issues about balls:
Today:
Yesterday, same teams:
HBP rates are down from last year, except for The Mets. That doesn’t seem to point to the balls being the problem.
The Mets have been furious about a spate of hit batters, and pitcher Chris Bassitt blamed it largely on inconsistencies in baseballs provided by the league a year after Major League Baseball cracked down on the use of illegal sticky substances by pitchers.
“MLB is always concerned about keeping hitters safe from dangerous pitches,” a league spokesman said in a statement Wednesday. "We closely analyze trends in the game and have active conversations with our players and coaches to address concerns.
“Through April 26, leaguewide statistics show hit-by-pitch rates and wild pitch rates are down relative to previous seasons. However, one club has been hit more than twice as often as the league average so far in 2022, which is something we will continue to monitor.”
I have a handful of tickets for a noon game tomorrow. Tigers @ Twins. Noon start.
Anyone want to go?
Kevin Gausman today became the only pitcher since Cy Young (1906) to begin a season with five straight starts and a minimum of 20 innings pitched without allowing a walk or home run.
Nice move by Aaron Judge and the enabling Jays fan. I would have been like that boy if I had met Mickey Mantle when I was 9.
Reds became just the 6th team to lose a game without allowing a Hit. By comparison there have been 23 perfect games thrown in MLB.
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The 2nd such game where no errors played a role.
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