Baseball Statistics: BABIP Updated

When we last visited this subject (see link here), there was considerable debate whether John Lannan’s abnormally low Batting Average for Balls Put into Play, or BABIP, was a statistical anomaly or whether there was something inherent in Lannan’s pitching technique and/or location that causes him to have the lowest BABIP in the league over the past [...]

Stephen King’s New Baseball Book: Blockade Billy

Stephen King, the master of the horror genre, is releasing a baseball-themed book.  It is a novella entitled Blockade Billy and tells the tale of a great baseball player, William Blakely,  whose exploits have been erased from the record books.  Limited edition sales begin April 20th and regular mass market sales begin in May.
From Stephen [...]

Introduction to FanGraphs, WE and WPA

Given that my Washington Nationals were being pummeled 11-7 by the Milwaukee Brewers on this Sunday afternoon, I thought my time would be better spent talking a little bit about FanGraphs (www.fangraphs.com) and some key statistics being used to analyze games.
FanGraphs.com is a company located in Arlington, Virginia that provides statistics for every player in Major League [...]

Topps Million Card Giveaway

Ok admit it.  Almost every one of us has some apocalyptic tale about how, if it weren’t for our mother throwing out our baseball card collection, we would all be millionaires.  Well, you now have an opportunity to forgive dear old Mom.  For kids and for grownups who still have a kid within them (like myself), Topps [...]

The Perfect Game

The Perfect Game movie is being released across the US today.  It is based on a critically-acclaimed (amazon 5 star rating) book by W. William Winokur of the same name.  Both the book and its movie adaptation (by director William Dear Angels in the Outfield and Sandlot 3) are based on a true story.  Below is a synopsis [...]

April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson’s Opening Day

April 15th 1947 is one of the most signficant days in Major League history.  It is the day that Jackie Robinson– an African American–first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  
Jonathan Eig’s account of the events leading up to this day and beyond are contained in Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season.
It [...]

The Reggie Bar — 32 Years Later

The Yankees celebrated their 27th world championship yesterday prior to their home opener.  Thirty-two years ago, they had quite a different home opener experience–cue Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!
Prior to becoming a Yankee, Reggie Jackson had said, “If I played in New York, they’d name a candy bar after me.” The Curtiss Candy Company—appropriately enough, producers of the [...]

Roger Maris New Biography

Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero by Danny Peary and Tom Clavin
New York Baseball Digest recently aired a fantastic  interview with Danny Peary, one of the co-authors of the book.   I learned many things about this all-time great that I didn’t know or didn’t fully appreciate.
Peary describes a perfect storm of events coming together to create Maris’ less-than-stellar [...]

High Heat: Finding Baseball’s Fastest Pitcher

High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time  by Tim Wendel
Yesterday we posted an interview with the author that touched off a wonderful debate on who was, in fact, the fastest pitcher of all time.  So this expanded post contains some additional facts about 100+ [...]

Holy Land Hardball on MLB TV April 11th 8pm EST

Holy Land Hardball on MLB TV Tonight (Sunday April 11) at 8pm EST
MLB TV is showing another film in its Reel Hardball series tonight called Holy Land Hardball.  The film is about the formation of the Israel Baseball League (IBL) in 2007 and the mission to bring professional baseball to the Middle East is the [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »