Baseball

How the Astros became baseball’s king of shifts

The escalating use of defensive shifts across baseball during the past few seasons has been well documented, and in 2013, the Houston Astros were among the leaders when it came to implementing radical defensive alignments. A year ago, the Astros ranked fifth in baseball in defensive shifts on balls in play with 496, while…

Chris Mosch 04.24.2014
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Trout Fishing for a Defensive Comeback

Part of Mike Trout’s appeal is his ability to do literally anything on a baseball field. Trout is a line-drive hitter with over-the-fence power. He can propel his prototypical linebacker body to a 6.5-second 60-yard dash and possesses a plus arm that he used to draw accolades on the mound…

Doug Wachter 04.09.2014
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The Same A.J. Burnett Is Not The Same A.J. Burnett

Last season, A.J. Burnett pitched 191 stellar innings, leading Pittsburgh to its first postseason appearance since Sid Bream’s slide ended the 1992 NLDS. Burnett’s 3.30 ERA was backed up by even better peripherals, as his 2.80 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) mark was fifth among qualified NL hurlers. While Burnett certainly…

Doug Wachter 03.05.2014
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Why Yankee Fans should be in their seats before Derek Jeter bats

Derek Jeter recently announced through Facebook that the 2014 season would be his last. Immediately upon his announcement, ticket prices for Jeter’s final home game at Yankee Stadium soared. Before the announcement, tickets for the September 25th game against the Baltimore Orioles were selling for less than $100 on StubHub; however,…

Jeremy Kaufman 02.26.2014
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Mark Trumbo’s Hidden Tool

When the Diamondbacks, Angels, and White Sox agreed on a three-team deal that sent Mark Trumbo to the desert during this year’s Winter Meetings, the trade was widely panned from the Diamondbacks’ perspective. Many observers felt that the Snakes had given up too much young, controllable talent in a myopic…

Doug Wachter 02.25.2014
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Digging Deeper into JJ Hardy’s Defensive Performance

Baltimore Orioles shortstop, JJ Hardy, is one the top defensive shortstops in Major League Baseball. However, despite finishing 2013 statistically among the top five shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (estimated number of runs saved by player for his team), he is widely considered on the second tier of shortstops in…

Jeremy Kaufman 02.06.2014
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