Dick Stuart , Un Jonronero Con El Guante De Papel (Dick Stuart, A Slugger With The Glove Of Paper)

Es muy común en el béisbol decirle “espía” a un pelotero que es deficiente con el guante. Para poder jugar en las Grandes Ligas debes ser un muy buen bateador si eres maluco con el guante y/o viceversa. Uno de esos casos que han ocurrido en el béisbol , uno de esos James Bonds, de […]

Measuring a Pitcher’s Ace Factor

Below is a statistical collection of the seasonal performances of every starting pitcher between 1950 and 2010. Each pitcher’s season, represented by a blue diamond, was measured by a calculation that didn’t consider any of the usual suspects typically used in measuring a pitcher’s effectiveness, such as ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, shutouts, or even ground ball percentages, contact […]

Starting Pitchers: Judging Their Careers

How do you judge whether a starting pitcher had a Hall of Fame career?  Obviously, there are many fans who will have different opinions on this question.  And many of the answers may be influenced by which team the fan supports.  But is there a completely objective way to answer this question? Yes, according to […]

Yankees Should Avoid Using Burnett in the Postseason

Since 1920, 391 Yankees pitchers have had a seasonal ERA of at least 5.30. Of all those pitchers, no pitcher has been allowed to pitch as many innings as A.J. Burnett. Why? Because Burnett is on a five-year deal, and he is making $16.5 million this season. Essentially, he is here to stay and the […]

CC Sabathia Does Not Deserve Cy Young

The 2010 Cy Young conversation had been a fascinating debate. It had raised questions about how to determine if a pitcher is successful, and the value of certain statistics. But, unlike other years, the 2010 debate has recently become quite a silly argument as the season comes to a close. The main discussion has been between CC […]

A cincuenta años de aquel Campeonato Mundial de Béisbol Juvenil. (That Baseball Juvenile Championship fifty years ago)

Siempre que seguía los torneos de béisbol amateur a comienzos de los años setenta terminaba con el mismo sabor cáustico en la boca, la representación cubana se llevaba todos los honores, por lo general derrotando a la novena venezolana en las instancias culminantes.

Chasing Down Dutch (Hub) Leonard

What do Ubaldo Jimenez and Dutch (Hub) Leonard have in common?  Nothing and everything. Jimenez is a big, strong, “black”, right-handed power pitcher who features a 95-97 MPH fastball that sometimes reaches triple digits and has sick movement, a slider, curveball, and change-up, the last of which tops out at 88, faster than some hurlers’ […]

El Irlandés Silbador (The Whistling Irishman)

Hace alrededor de unos tres años recibí un correo de SABR (Sociedad Americana de Investigadores de Béisbol) solicitando aficionados que quisieran escribir alguna anécdota sobre el magnífico manager de los Piratas de Pittsburgh, Danny Murtaugh. La idea era que la historia estuviera relacionada con la cotidianidad del escritor para darle más profundidad. La nieta de […]

House Looking To Have Stronger Season

On Sunday afternoon, left-hander T.J. House made his advanced Single-A debut in the Carolina League for the Kinston Indians.  He did not disappoint, going five strong innings where he allowed two runs on six hits and one walks, but most impressively had ten strikeouts. Depending on what publication you refer to House is a top […]